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©n  to  Cbina ! 


THE  WOMAN’S  JOURNAL-  ^ 

An  Illustrated  Monthly  Magazine  devoted  to 
the  Religious  work  of  the  Womeh  of  the  Re- 
formed Church. ' # ' 

It  contains  suggestions  and  helps  for  the  work- 
ers, as  well  as  able  articles  from  the  field  at  hotue  and 
abroad. 

Send  for  a free  sample  copy. 

Subscription  Price,  50icts.  per  yea#. 

Issued  the  first  of  each  month. 

Address, 

THE  WOMAN'S  JOURNAL, 

ALLIANCE,  OHIO. 

r 

YOUR  OWN. 

New  Missionary  Music. 

We  have  just  received  from  the  printers  a large 
supply  of  the  Words  and  Music  of  this  excellent  hymn. 

It  is  meeting  with  great  favor. 

It  will  not  fail  to  give  satisfaction. 

You  will  need  it  for  your  programs. 

All  it  needs  to  recommend  it  is  a trial. 

SEND  FOR  A COPY. 

Price  Single  Copy,  3 cts;  per  doz,  25  cts 
Address,  WOMAN’S  JOURNAL, 

ALLIANCE,  OHIO, 


ON  TO  CHINA! 


The  Needs  of  China  Vividly  Portrayed, 
WITH  A Powerful  Plea  for  the 
Christian  Churches  to 
Supply  those 
Needs. 


by 

REV.  W.  E.  HOY, 


PUBLISHED  BY 

THE  WOMAN’S  JOURNAL, 
ALLIANCE,  OHIO. 


J . 


NOTE. 


The  pages  of  this  little  book  have  been  written 
with  the  prayer  that  God  will  use  them  for  His  glory 
and  the  redemption  of  China. 

If  you  think  it  will  do  any  good,  will  you  not  be- 
gin now  to  do  your  part  to  make  it  widely  known? 

(i.)  Please  order  two  copies  of  “On  to  China!” 
Send  them  to  friends  and  ask  them  to  do  the  same. 
Do  this  today  if  possible. 

(2.)  Please  bring  the  pamphlet  to  the  notice  of 
Missionary  Societies,  Sunday  School  Teachers,  Minis- 
ters and  Christian  people. 

(3.)  Please  mention  “On  to  China’’  from  the  pul- 
pit, from  the  platform,  in  the  local  parish  papers,  in  the 
church  publications,  etc.  State  the  price,  (one  copy  for 
I5cts.  ,two  copies  25cts.)aud  where  it  can  be  procured. 

(4.)  Please  do  not  fail  to  pray  that  wherever  these 
messages  go,  hearts  may  be  opened,  purse  strings  un- 
tied, and  a mighty  forward  movement  inaugurated,  as 
the  Reformed  host  advances  “On  to  China.’’ 

The  price  has  been  placed  low  in  order  to  place 
the  book  within  the  reach  of  all.  Should  any  one  wish 
to  pay  for  a number  of  copies  to  be  sent  out  gratuitous, 
where  they  are  likely  to  do  the  most  good,  such  assis- 
tance would  be  very  much  appreciated. 

Do  not  delay  to  do  a good  deed. 


Entered  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  year  1899. 
By  H.  E.  KiIvMER. 

In  the  office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


Dear  Friends: 

Many  of  you  have  read  the  eighteen  letters  that 
grew  out  of  my  trip  to  Central  China  in  the  spring  of 
1898.  Just  as  I had  finished  and  mailed  the  last  one, 
with  the  fervent  prayer  that  God  would  bless  the  whole 
series,  an  urgent  call  came  from  a warm  missionary 
heart  to  write  a pamphlet  to  be  entitled  “On  To 
China.”  For  a few  days  I could  not  decide  what 
was  best  to  do.  Impressed  with,  and  sometimes  op- 
pressed by  the  reality  of  life,  the  earnestness  of  a di- 
vine conviction  seemed  to  run  like  fire  through  every 
thought  and  prayer  on  this  strong  request.  The  more 
I meditated,  the  more  I saw  the  needs  of  “China’s 
Millions.  ’ ’ The  more  I considered  the  great  spiritual 
field  of  the  Middle  Kingdom,  the  clearer  became  the 
vision  of  Jesus  bleeding  on  the  cross  for  China.  The 
command  came  in  no  uncertain  dream,  “Write.”  So 
I write  in  the  hope  that  you  who  have  the  mind  of 
Christ  will  read  patiently  what  is  here  recorded  out  of 
the  fullness  of  a weak  missionary’s  heart.  Read, read, 
no  matter  how  much  the  writer  lacks  the  facile  pen. 
Read  and  ponder,  read  and  pray,  and  may  your  pity 
and  love,  and  heart’s  deepest  sympathy  all  spring  into 
zealous  activity. 

Sincerely  Yours, 

W.  E.  Hoy. 


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ON  TO  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  I. 

In  What  Frame  of  Mind  Shale  We  Go  ? 

You  will  answer,  “In  the  Spirit  of  Christ.  ’’  Well 
said.  It  is  the  Christ,  the  son  of  the  living  God  who 
hath  said,  “Eo,  I am  with  you  alway,’’  and  it  is  He 
that  beckons  the  Reformed  Church  in  the  United  States 
of  America  to  follow  Him  to  China.  As  I see  Him 
He  stands  beckoning  with  pierced  hands  in  the  direc- 
tion of  suffering  and  disease  and  ignorance  and  vice 
and  paganism.  Instead  of  following  Him  there  in  im- 
plicit obedience,  many  Christian  men  and  women  keep 
asking  for  “stirring,  exciting  incidents’’  on  the  mis- 
sion field  to  serve  as  fuel  for  the  flame  of  missionary 
zeal.  When  this  “interesting’’ material  is  not  forth- 
coming to  stimulate  new  and  larger  undertakings, 
then  ensues  lethargy,  and  thousands  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  “God’s  people’’  fall  asleep  and  shed  not  even 
a single  tear,  notwithstanding  the'  terrible  fact  that 
the  greater  portion  of  humanity  lies  dead  in  sin  and 
ignorance  has  become  generally  well  known  to  them. 
Outside  of  true  abiding  life  in  Christ  there  is  no  mo- 
tive for  foreign  missions.  From  my  own  experience  I 
know  that  an  audience  may,  in  Christian  lands,  be 
moved  to  tears  at  the  sight  of  heathen  lands  as  pre- 
sented by  the  returned  missionary.  I know  that 
with  the  wiping  away  of  those  tears  much  that 
temporarily  encouraged  the  missionary  vanishes. 


8 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


In  that  way  we  cannot  go  “On  to  China.  Such 
tears  of  an  emotional  present  are  but  a shallow  ocean 
upon  which  the  good  old  missionary  ship  is  only  too 
soon  stranded  on  the  rock  of  stony  indifference.  No, 
that  will  not  answer  our  purpose.  The  sensational 
or  exciting  period  in  missions  is  passing  away.  The 
day  of  hard,  plodding,  unromantic  toil  to  develop  mis- 
sions toward  maturity  and  self-support  has  come.  Men 
begin  to  speak  in  an  undertone  of  “a  science  of  mis- 
sions. ’ ’ This  modified  attitude  of  the  present  hour  is, 
perhaps^  still  more  evident  in  the  growing  lack  of  in- 
terest in  the  hard  facts  of  heathen  life-  The  priests 
and  Levites  pass  by  on  the  other  side.  Would  not 
something  “stirring”  bring  them  over  to  the  side  of 
him  who  needs  the  good  Samaritan’s  help?  No:  not 
if  the  spirit  of  Christ  is  notin  them.  It  is  said  that 
the  half  know  not  how  the  other  half  live.  And  wor.se, 
it  must  be  .said,  they  do  not  care  to  know,  much  less 
to  help.  Has  not  a portion  of  the  church  grown  cal- 
lous towards  missions  simply  because  the  foreign  mis- 
sionary, in  the  monotony  of  his  work,  can  no  longer 
supply  the  fuel  to  keep  volatile  tempers  at  a white 
heat  ? Who  are  they  that  are  burning  out  down  to 
the  socket  ? Throw  away  that  candlestick.  Back  to 
the  Lord  and  His  cruse  of  oil  shall  never  fail.  The 
weak,  erring  missionary  is  a poor  man  to  look  to  for 
the  creation  of  a true  love  of  missions.  In  Christ  Je- 
sus the  flame  of  missionary  zeal  is  bright  for  evermore. 
Love  and  toil  are  more  than  romance. 

In  this  crisis  be  not  di.scouraged.  Christ  has 
compassion  on  the  mission  fields  of  the  earth  and  His 
Spirit  will  kindle  in  your  hearts  a more  steadfast  con- 
viction of  duty  in  the  evangelization  of  the  world  and 


IN  WHAT  FRAME  OF  MIND  SHALL  WE  GO?  9 

engender  a purer  love  of  souls.  God  will  lead  you  on 
to  China  and  to  a sound  Christian  .sense  and  teach  you 
how  to  attain  splendid  achievements  in  a new  field  of 
labor  for  the  glory  of  God  and  for  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  amelioration  and  salvation  of  the  nations  of 
the  earth.  It  means  hard  work,  .sober  work.  The 
individual  cannot  thrive  on  novelties  and  .sensations. 
The  Church  cannot.  Missions  cannot.  The  appeal 
now  is  to  the  judgment,  the  will  and  to  the  conscience. 
Roj^al  service  for  Christ  needs  a consecration  based  on 
the  principles  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Christ  Jesus. 

We  must  also  cultivate  the  habit  of  thinking  dai- 
ly about  those  who  have  not  the  Gospel.  Our  sick 
neighbor  has  our  first  thought  in  the  morning.  Aye, 
the  great  need  of  our  day  is  a revival  among  God’s 
people  which  will  bring  them  together  to  consult,  in 
the  strength  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  about  the  affairs  of 
Christ’s  Kingdom  and  the  world’s  needs,  and  the 
world’s  claim  upon  the  followers  of  Christ,  to  meet 
and  consult  as  men  of  business  meet  and  con.sult  about 
their  personal  affairs,  and  to  wait  upon  ihe  Lord  in 
prayer.  There  must  be  time  enough  given  to  God’s 
things  in  the  world  to  call  forth  our  best  efforts  to 
comprehend  and  to  do  the  will  of  our  Father;  to  be 
about  our  Father’s  bu.sine.ss,  and  business  requires 
thought  and  time  to  lead  it  to  a .successful  i.ssue.  It 
must  be  laid  upon  our  hearts  as  a part  of  our  Christian 
life,  that  Christ  meant  what  He  said  in  the  command, 
“Go  ye  into  all  the  world;’’  and  that  the  Father’s 
bu.sine.ss  is  the  busine.ss  of  the  Church.  We  must  car- 
ry forward  the  business,  and  Christ  is  with  us  alway. 
Christ  cannot  abide  with  those  of  us  who  are  not  in- 
terested in  or  committed  to  the  eonversion  of  the 


lO 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


world.  His  promise  to  be  with  us  is  a conditional  one, 
and  the  condition  hangs  on  the  little  word  “Go.”  Is 
not  the  whole  world  all  in  all  to  Christ  ? Every  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  is  called  upon  to  awaken  to  the  im- 
portance of  missions  that  they  may  long  to  give  all 
they  can  toward  sending  the  Gospel  to  those  who  do 
not  know  the  love  of  Christ.  The  Church  needs  no 
novelty  in  these  pressing  matters  of  foreign  missions, 
but  the  habit  of  reading,  prayer,  and  meditation. 
The  church  needs  a baptism  of  sound  liberality — a 
genial,  spiritual  flow  of  grace  and  giving,  which,  like 
Tennyson’s  brook,  goes  on  forever.  Away  with  the 
sense  of  burden  when  you  approach  the  Lord  s treas- 
ury". Out  of  the  fulness  of  steady  growth  in  the 
knowledge  of  divine  things,  help  the  work  of  the  Lord. 
Remember,  it  is  not  a question  of  duty  and  privilege 
alone;  it  is  a divine  command  based  on  deep  even  life, 
in  which  our  own  religious  destiny  is  thrown  in  the 
scale.  The  earth  is  the  Lord’s.  Will  a man  rob  God  ? 
We  need  a clearer  view  of  the  Master’s  work  in  the 
field  of  the  world  and  our  part  in  the  great  enterprise. 
We  dare  not  disobey  the  call  nor  shift  the  responsibili- 
ty. The  world  awaits  the  coming  of  our  Lord.  Serve 
and  toil.  Thus  it  becomes  natural  to  go  or  to  give. 

Here  let  me  add  the  story  of  a Baptist  missionary’s 
boy,  who  was  just  six  weeks  old  when,  more  than  thir- 
teen years  ago,  I first  came  to  Sendai  to  live.  A short 
time  ago  he  was  baptized  in  the  Baptist  Church  of  Sen- 
dai. Somehow  the  boy’s  father  forgot  to  teach  him 
the  beautiful  Baptist  “Covenant”  before  he  was  made 
a member  of  the  church.  Then  a Baptist  missionary 
lady,  a staunch  friend  of  the  boy,  called  his  attention 
to  the  “Covenant.”  The  boy  was  astoni.shed  and 


IN  WHAT  FRAME  OF  MIND  SHALL  WE  GO?  1 1 

asked,  “Do  all  the  Japanese  Baptists  learn  this  ?’’  The 
answer  was,  ‘ ‘Yes.  ’ ’ And  do  all  the  Baptists  in  Ameri- 
ca learn  this  and  repeat  this  on  regular  occasions  ? 
Again,  the  answer  was  “Yes.”  This  young  Christian 
looked  pained,  grew  pale,  and  exclaimed,  “And  all 
the  Baptists  in  America  hold  this  ‘Covenant’  and  yet 
the  missionaries  must  beg  so  hard  for  help  to  carry  on 
the  Lord’s  work  among  the  nations  of  the  earth!’’ 
Oh  ! the  faith  of  the  boy,  and  his  pain  at  the  thought 
that  so  many  brother  Baptists  across  the  Pacific  deceive 
the  Lord  I Ah  ! my  friends,  here  are  questions  that 
trouble  me,  and  I dread  the  day  when  I shall  have  to 
explain  to  my  five  children  some  things  left  undone 
in  foreign  missions.  Do  you  not  know  that  even  in 
Christian  lands  many  an  earnest,  honest  soul  falls  into 
despair  at  the  indifference  of  the  Church,  curses  God 
and  goes  to  hell  ? There  are  simple  souls  that  would 
take  God  at  His  word  and  in  childlike  zeal  ‘ ‘ Go’  ’ about 
their  Father’s  business,  but  an  indifferent  church 
drags  them  down  and  never  again  offers  to  raise  them 
or  anyone  else  up  to  an  active  life  in  God.  Those  that 
cannot  take  God  at  His  word  and  rely  upon  His  prom- 
ises are  not  likely  to  be  in  a proper  frame  of  mind  to  go 
ON  TO  China.  He  would  run  away  from  the  first  sight 
of  indescribable  soul-poverty.  Oh  ! God  give  us  all 
the  mind  that  was  in  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord.  Help  us 
to  do  Thy  will  in  China.  Oh  ! quicken  our  Church  in 
the  United  States  of  America.  Lead  her  to  Thy  work 
in  China.  O help  us  that  no  opportunity  may  slip  by 
unimproved  by  Thy  children. 


12 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


CHAPTER  II. 

The  Children  First. 

I want  to  tell  you  something  about  childhood  in 
China  and  hope  to  do  it  just  as  I did  to  my  own  child- 
ren when  they  gathered  around  my  knees  on  my  re- 
turn from  that  country.  Let  us  not  forget  that  little 
children  may  come  to  Jesus;  for  He  said,  “Suffer  the 
little  children  to  come  unto  me.’’  Now,  I do  not  be- 
lieve that  those  children  crowded  about  Jesus  simply  to 
be  caressed  or  to  have  Him  lay  His  hands  upon  them 
and  bless  them.  Jesus  was  the  greatest  teacher  the 
world  has  ever  seen.  He  understood  the  little  ones 
and  touched  the  gentle  springs  of  their  minds  and 
brought  forth  in  respon.se  living  water,  and  He  also 
awakened  their  hearts  to  better  and  higher  things. 
Have  you  never  .seen  how  children  love  to  sit  around 
a teacher,  or  a father  or  a mother,  who  understands 
them  and  tells  them  .stories  and  teaches  them  useful 
things?  You  never  grow  tired  of  such  people.  In  a 
much  higher  sen.se  Jesus  could  lead  the  children  and 
teach  them  deep  le.s.sons  of  true  life.  Even  in  China, 
where,  as  we  shall  see,  the  children  have  no  such  chanc- 
es as  you  have,  many  children  flock  into  the  mission- 
ary’s home  and  learn  of  Jesus.  A dear  little  Chinese 
boy,  only  three  years  old,  a .short  time  ago  died,  hum- 
ming the  words,  “God  is  love.’’  You  will  also  be 
greatly  interested  in  the  story  that  the  great  mission- 
ary of  Central  China,  Dr.  Griffith  John,  tells  with  so 
much  force.  I met  Dr.  John  and  loved  him  from  the 
beginning,  and  this  fact  will  make  the  story  more  real 


THE  CHILDREN  FIRST. 


13 


to  you,  for  many  of  you  know  me  and  have  seen  me. 
This  is  how  Dr.  John  tells  his  .story: 

“It  is  the  stjry  of  a brave  boy — a Chinese  boy,  of 
cour.se.  A little  boy  who  had  been  to  a Christian 
.school  had  made  up  his  mind  that  he  would  worship 
idols  no  more.  Some  of  his  relatives  were  very  angry 
becan.se  of  this  and  were  determined  to  force  him  to 
wor. ship  them.  They  beat  him,  but  it  was  of  no  u.se; 
he  only  became  more  determined  in  his  mind  that  he 
would  never  worship  them  again.  One  day  they  took 
him  into  a temple  and  tried  to  force  him  to  go  on  his 
knees  and  knock  his  head  to  the  idol,  but  he  .stoutly 
refused.  At  last  they  threatened  to  throw  him  into 
the  river  which  was  flowing  near  by.  ‘Throw  me,’ 
said  he,  ‘if  yon  like;  but  I will  never  worship  wood 
and  stone  again.  Jesus  is  the  true  Savior,  and  I will 
worship  him  only.’  They  took  hold  of  him  and 
pitched  him  into  the  water.  One  of  his  relatives,  how- 
ever, rushed  after  him  and  picked  him  up  again. 
When  out  of  the  water  the  first  thing  he  said  was, 
‘You  have  not  succeeded.  While  in  the  water  I never 
prayed  to  the  idols;  I only  prayed  to  Je.su.s.’  A brave 
little  boy  that  ! May  yon  all  be  as  brave  for  God;  brave 
for  Jesus;  brave  for  righteousness;  brave  for  the  mis- 
sionary cause;  brave  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 
Such  bravery  will  make  you  a great  power  for  good.’’ 

China  is  full  of  children.  One  sees  them  every- 
where, in  the  house,  on  the  street,  in  hou.seboats 
where  they  are  born  and  where  they  live  to  old  age, 
in  the  field,  and  in  all  nooks  and  crooks  of  the  land. 
The  wonder  is  where  they  came  from  and  who  takes 
care  of  them.  Their  clothing  does  not  cost  much. 
Old  rags  tor  swaddling  bands  is  all  that  is  needed  when 


14 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


the  new  baby  coraes;  Then  out  in  the  country,  in 
summer,  the  skin  of  the  little  ones  is  considered 
enough  covering  for  the  child.  The  parents  are  care- 
ful to  tie  a red  cord  around  the  child’s  little  wrists. 
This  will  make  the  child  docile  and  obedient  in  the 
future.  Another  red  cord  is  tied  around  the  neck  and 
suspended  from  it  are  various  charms  to  preserve  the 
little  one  from  evil  spirits  and  guard  him  against  at- 
tacks of  colic  and  other  ailments  of  infancy.  Perhaps 
the  best  we  may  say  of  these  charms  is  that  they  are  a 
great  source  of  play  to  the  baby,  who  seems  to  look  at 
them  as  so  many  interesting  toys  Good  innocent 
play  makes  children  sweet  and  evil  spirits  then  stay 
away.  Thus  those  charms  are  better  than  the  idola- 
trous parents  know. 

You  will  be  .surprised  to  know  that  the  child  is 
nameless  for  the  first  month.  The  Chinese  are  not  so 
eager  as  the  Americans  are  to  name  the  new  arrival. 
But  Oh  ! what  an  important  event  it  is  when  the 
Chinese  baby  has  completed  his  first  month  ! If  the 
baby  is  a boy,  what  a gathering  of  neighbors,  friends 
and  relatives  from  near  and  far  to  celebrate  a grand 
feast  in  honor  of  the  great  day,  and  what  an  abundance 
of  good  things  they  all  bring,  and  then  the  shaving  of 
the  baby’s  head  ! And,  by  the  way,  I think  this  shav- 
ing of  the  head  is  a merciful  act  unto  the  little  one, 
for  then  the  lice  that  are  everywhere  and  always  look- 
ing for  new  places  to  live  and  thrive  in  cannot  fir^a  a 
home  on  that  child’s  head.  On  that  day  the  baby  is 
given  his  “milk”  name.  When  he  goes  to  school,  the 
master  changes  the  name  for  him.  On  his  wedding 
day  he  receives  still  another  name;  and  should  he  be- 
come a learned  official  the  name  may  be  changed  again. 


GIRLS  AT  STUDY  IN  A CHINESE  SCHOOL. 


THE  CHILDREN  FIRST 


15 


i6 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


Sad  the  truth  to  tell  that  ia  China  girl  babies  are 
not  welcome.  Neighbors,  friends,  and  relatives  only 
pity  the  parents  when  a baby  girl  puts  in  an  appearance. 
Oh  ! how  this  fact  pierced  my  heart  as  I passed  through 
China.  In  my  family  there  are  three  little  boys  and 
two  little  girls,  and  the  girls  are  as  much  loved  as 
their  dear  little  brothers.  I could  not  be  without  our 
Gertrude  and  Mabel.  So  in  your  own  sacred  Christ- 
ian home  in  America,  you  boys  and  girls  are  loved  and 
cared  for  without  any  thought  of  whether  you  are  a 
boy  or  girl.  In  some  parts  of  China,  it  often  happens 
that  a baby  girl  is  thrown  out  into  the  street  or  into 
the  back  yard,  to  be  eaten- by  the  dogs.  The  mission- 
aries told  me  many  pitiable  things  that  the  Chinese  are 
guilty  of  in  relation  to  little  girls.  But  there  is  one 
bright  story  among  them.  Some  years  ago  a little  ba- 
by was  born  in  a certain  Chinese  home  The  father 
was  so  angry  because  it  was  a girl  that  he  picked  it  up 
and  threw  it  out  in  the  mud.  Presently  a missionary 
and  his  wife  came  along  the  same  street.  The  wife 
saw  something  move  a little  in  the  mud.  At  last,  on 
looking  a little  closer,  she  cried  out  to  her  husband, 
“Oh  ! my  dear,  see  there,  look,  isn’t  that  a baby,  a 
newly  born  baby  ?’  ’ The  good  people  were  deeply 
shocked  at  the  sight  of  this  cruelty.  Their  eyes  filled 
with  tears  and  their  hearts  with  love.  Then  they  took 
up  the  tiny  body  and  carried  it  to  their  own  home, 
washed  it,  clothed  it,  fed  it,  and  afterwards  adopted  it. 
They  brought  up  the  little  girl  as  they  would  a child 
of  their  own  flesh  and  bone.  She  became  a loving, 
obedient  child.  They  educated  her  carefully,  and  she 
in  good  time  gave  her  heart  to  Jesus.  By  and  by, 
these  missionaries  were  told  by  their  Board  of  Foreign 


THE  CHILDREN  FIRST. 


17 


missions  to  go  to  Japan  and  help  the  Christian  work 
there.  They  could  not  part  with  their  dear  Chinese 
girl,  for  she  had  grown  to  be  a lovable  child.  So 
they  brought  her  over  to  Japan.  She  grew  up  to  be 
a good  woman,  and  today  she  is  a teacher  in  one  of 
the  mission  schools  for  Japanese  girls.  Her  father 
threw  her  out,  not  caring  what  would  become  of  her. 
God  sent  those  tender-hearted  missionaries  along  that 
way  to  find  her  and  rescue  her.  God  thus  raised  her 
up  to  teach  Japanese  girls  that  Jesus  is  the  Friend  of 
all  who  will  come  unto  Him. 

When  a Chinese  baby  dies,  no  loving  mother's 
hands  prepare  it  for  its  grave.  The  little  body  is 
usually  thrown  into  a pit  under  a tower  built  for  that 
purpose.  In  case  it  is  buried,  it  is  so  poorly  done  that 
the  dogs  soon  dig  it  out  and  eat  it.  If  the  sick  little 
one  is  a girl,  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  the  par- 
ents to  get  rid  of  it  before  it  is  really  dead.  They 
cherish  no  tender  memories  of  the  dead  child,  for 
they  believe  that  it  died  because  it  was  possessed  of 
some  evil  spirit,  and  would  always  have  been  a trouble, 
an  anxiety,  or  a misfortune.  The  sooner  the  dead 
child  passes  out  of  their  minds,  the  better  it  is  for  all. 
Oh ! the  bitterness  of  such  life  and  ignorance.  God 
have  mercy ! 

As  I have  told  you  Dr.  John’s  story  of  the  brave 
Chinese  Christian  boy,  I must  give  the  story  of  a little 
Chinese  girl.  I copy  it  from  The  Little  Missionary . 
“Totsi  (the  Chinese  word  for  beans)  is  the  name  of  a 
little  girl  in  Central  China.  She  is  thirteen  years  old, 
and  her  mother  is  dead,  and  the  father  lives  near  the 
Mission  Home  where  all  who  go  to  that  part  of  the 


i8 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


the  empire  stay  for  some  months  while  beginning  to 
study  the  language. 

“A  school  for  Chinese  Girls  had  been  opened  near 
Totsi’s  home,  and  the  teacher  asked  Totsi  to  come, 
but  at  first  she  would  not  go.  The  teacher  of  the 
school  was  kept  busy,  that  she  could  not  study  much 
at  the  language,  so  she  wanted  some  one  to  come  and 
help  her  and  learn  to  read  in  the  school.  Totsi  hear- 
ing of  it,  came  and  asked  if  she  might  not  come  and 
work  for  her.  It  did  not  seem  as  if  she  were  large 
enough  to  help  much,  but  she  was  told  that  she  might 
try  if  she  would  obey  and  come  to  school  every  day. 

“The  Chinese  houses  of  the  poorer  people  have 
mud  walls  with  a floor  of  earth,  and  only  a few  bench- 
es and  boards  for  a bed,  as  furniture,  and  the  little 
girl  had  to  learn  how  to  sweep  and  dust  and  keep  a 
room  clean  and  tidy.  She  soon  knew  how  to  do  many 
things  very  nicely,  and  would  look  after  the  smaller 
girls. 

“After  she  had  been  in  school  a few  weeks  she 
came  and  told  her  teacher  that  she  believed  in  Jesus. 
And  when  their  New  Year  came’  when  everybody 
worships  idols,  she  said  they  did  not  have  any  in  their 
home  now,  and  her  father  told  those  who  came  to  see 
them  that  it  was  because  they  believed  in  the  true  God. 
She  did  not  like  to  study,  but  when  told  that  she 
would  not  know  how  to  serve  God  unless  she  could 
read  her  Bible,  she  did  much  better. 

“One  morning  she  asked  her  teacher  to  go  to  her 
home  with  her  that  ' afternoon  and  tell  some  of  the 
women  the  ‘doctrine,’  as  they  call  the  teaching  about 
God,  and  said  she  would  tell  them  anything  they  could 
not  understand.  Several  women  and  children  were 


THB  CHILDREN  FIRST. 


19 


gathered  in  one  of  the  homes,  and  she  explained  what 
was  said  until  they  learned  the  speaker’s  words  and 
way  of  telling  things.  At  another  time  she  went  with 
her  to  see  the  sick  mother  of  one  of  the  other  scholars, 
and  while  there,  some  one  prayed  earnestly  that  God 
would  heal  her.  The  next  day  the  teacher  was  saying 
she  had  not  heard  how  she  was,  when  Totsi  said  she 
was  better,  and  when  asked  who  told  her,  they  found 
that  no  one  had,  but  because  they  had  prayed  she  felt 
sure  that  God  had  made  her  well  again.” 

Many  of  the  boys  in  China  learn  to  read  and  write 
the  difficult  characters  of  the  Chinese  language.  You 
have  the  simple  a,  b,  c,  to  learn  and  then  you  are  ready 
for  all  that  is  in  the  English  language,  if  you  only  read 
and  study  good  books.  Now,  the  Chinese  language 
is  made  up  of  tens  of  thousands  of  characters  consist- 
ing of  different  lines  and  curves.  Of  these  about  ten 
thousand  are  needed  to  enable  one  to  think  of  himself 
as  a good  reader  and  writer.  How  long  would  it  take 
you  to  learn  all  these  sign-words  ? Then  the  boys 
learn  the  old  books  of  China.  Some  of  these  books 
were  written  long  before  Jesus  was  born,  and  are  very 
difficult.  They  teach  the  young  how  to  conduct  them- 
selves in  life,  but  judging  from  the  real  results  there 
is  not  much  virtue  in  them.  They  have  not  that  life 
which  we  find  in  our  Bible.  And  we  must  not  forget 
arithmetic.  The  Chinese  are  noted  for  their  quickness 
in  making  accounts.  Then,  in  later  years,  some  of 
these  boys  keep  on  studying  many  years  in  order  to 
pass  a certain  exceedingly  difficult  examination;  and  if 
they  pass  this  they  may  have  a chance  of  getting  into 
some  government  office.  But  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  such  students  are  disappointed  at  each  examination. 


20 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


How  I wish  I could  go  on  without  saying  anything 
more  about  the  girls  of  China,  for  it  always  pains  me 
to  speak  about  their  unfair  and  cruel  treatment.  Very 
few  of  the  Chinese  girls  have  an  opportunity  to  get  an 
education.  When  they  arrive  at  the  usual  school  age — 
six  years — they  pass  through  a process  of  indescribable 
torture.  Because  the  most  important  part  of  a young 
girl’s  life  (we  may  say)  and  dress  is  her  shoes,  the 
feet  are  bound  when  she  is  six  years  old.  This  is  done 
not  by  iron  or  wood  shoes,  but  by  narrow  cotton  ban- 
dages about  three  yards  long.  “One  end  of  the  strip 
of  cotton  is  placed  below  the  instep  and  then  carried 
over  the  four  small  toes,  drawing  them  down  beneath 
the  foot.  Another  twist  draws  the  heel  and  great  toe 
nearer  together,  making  an  indentation  beneath  the 
sole.  When  all  the  cloth  has  been  used,  the  end  is 
firmly  sewed  down,  and  the  feet  are  left  for  a week  or 
two  in  that  condition.  Clean  bandages  are  now  and 
then  put  on,  but  the  change  has  to  be  rapidly  effected, 
or  the  blood  begins  again  to  circulate  in  the  poor  be- 
numbed feet,  and  the  agony  becomes  almost  unbear- 
able. Not  unfrequently  during  the  process  a girl  loses 
one  or  two  of  her  toes;  but  she  feels  repaid  in  the  pos- 
session of  still  smaller  feet.  Mothers  and  nurses  fre- 
quently perform  this  duty  for  their  daughters,  and  in 
passing  a Chinese  home  one  sometimes  hears  the  bitter 
crying  of  a child  whose  feet  are  bound.” 

This  is  done  on  account  of  the  power  of  fashion. 
No  matter  that  the  foot  which  is  not  seen  is  nothing 
but  a mass  of  distorted  and  broken  bones.  Fashion 
prescribes  the  tiny  shoe  of  colored  silk  or  satin , most 
tastefully  embroidered.  These  deformed  feet  are  called 
“golden  lillies.”  Oh  ! what  agony  these  little  girls 


THE  CHILDREN  FIRST. 


21 


bear  in  order  to  have  little  feet  that  are  scarcely  of  any 
use  to  them  in  after  years.  During  this  process,  in  the 
summer  heat  the  girls  lie  restless  with  fever,  and  in  the 
winter  they  are  afraid  to  cover  their  bodies  sufficiently 
to  keep  warm,  because  the  warmth  increases  the  pain. 
At  weddings  the  most  important  question  asked  about 
the  young  bride  is,  “what  are  the  size  of  her  feet?” 
But  I am  glad  to  say  that  the  missionaries  in  China  are 
fast  teaching  the  people  the  evils  of  foot-binding.  You 
can  help  in  the  good  work  by  sending  missionaries  to 
that  country.  You  begin  to  go  to  school  at  six,  you 
romp,  you  play,  skip  and  hop;  but  your  little  Chinese 
sister  lies  in  bed  with  great  pain  in  her  feet. 

If  you  raise  the  front  part  of  your  feet  and  walk 
on  your  heels,  you  can  pretty  well  imitate  the  gait  of  a 
girl  or  woman  with  bound  feet.  Some  girls’  feet  have 
been  made  so  small  that  they  cannot  walk  at  all  with- 
out assistance.  These  are  now  fitted  to  be  fashionable 
ladies. 

The  girls  of  the  poorer  class  are  frequentl}'  sold  to 
wealthy  ladies  to  act  in  the  capacity  of  slaves.  There 
are  many  stories  told  about  these  slave  girls.  One 
runs  thus — 

‘‘One  little  slave  girl  in  Hankow  had  been  so 
cruelly  beaten  by  her  mistress,  who  only  two  years  be- 
fore had  given  the  sum  of  forty  pounds  for  her,  that 
in  despair  she  took  a dose  of  opium,  hoping  thus  to 
find  in  death  an  escape  from  her  misery.  She  was 
only  thirteen  years  of  age.  Her  owners,  when  they 
discovered  what  she  had  done,  tried  several  native 
remedies  believed  to  be  antidotes;  among  others  the5’^ 
used  the  warm  blood  of  a fowl  just  killed.  But  seeing 
no  sign  of  recovery,  they  sent  at  last  for  a foreign  mis- 


22 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


sionary,  having  heard  that  Europeans  were  often  able  to 
restore  those  who  were  in  the  early  stages  of  opium  stu- 
por. When  the  missionary  reached  the  residence  of 
the  slave’s  owner,  he  found  he  had  been  summoned  too 
late.  He  did  all  he  could  but  the  unhappy  little  girl 
could  not  be  restored.” 

It  would  be  a great  pleasure  to  lead  you,  dear  chil- 
dren, through  the  streets  of  a crowded  Chinese  city; 
but  I fear  you  could  not  stand  the  trip.  You  might 
get  alarmed  as  soon  as  the  Chinese  would  begin  to 
shout,  ‘‘Foreign  devils  ! Kill  the  foreign  devils.” 
Then,  too,  the  filth  of  the  streets  might  make  you  sick. 
You  could  not  stop  to  look  at  all  the  strange  things  in 
the  shops,  for  a great  swinging  and  swaying,  shouting 
and  sweating,  throng  of  people  would  bear  you  along, 
and  you  would  get  lost.  The  pigs  and  the  donkeys, 
the  buffalo  cows  and  the  wheelbarrows,  the  horses 
and  the  sedan  chairs,  all  pushing  their  way  through 
the  dense  crowd  on  the  narrow  streets,  are  more  than 
a little  American  boy  or  girl  could  withstand.  More 
than  once  I was  pushed  to  the  right  and  to  the  left  by 
the  tens  of  thousands  of  animals  and  men  and  women. 
A butcher  with  a lot  of  pork  in  an  open  basket  greased 
my  overcoat  and  there  was  a great  time  cleaning  the 
garment.  A pig  ran  between  my  legs  and  nearly 
knocked  me  over.  I ran  up  against  a sw’aggering 
soldier  and  he  looked  and  shouted  bullets  and  dagg;ers 
at  me. 

I may  take  you  to  some  of  the  temples  in  which 
there  are  large  idols  of  various  kinds.  The  horrors 
that  surround  those  altars  I dare  not  open  to  you;  for 
they  are  too  unclean  before  God.  It  is  no  wonder  the 
Old  Testament  prophets  spoke  so  strongly  against 


THE  CHILDREN  FIRST. 


23 


idolatry.  The  worship  of  idols  is  indeed  dishonoring 
God.  Our  God  is  a holy  God.  Oh  ! the  uncleaness 
of  idolatry;  and  the  spiritual  and  moral  perils  to  which 
the  boys  and  girls  in  China  are  exposed  in  the  temples 
fill  my  soul  with  wrath  against  the  evil  one  who  is 
in  it  all. 

There  are,  of  course,  many  more  things  about 
childhood  in  China  that  I might  tell  you  now,  but  I 
must  hasten  on  to  other  subjects.  We  have  not  the 
time  to  stop  and  play  with  the  Chinese  children  with 
their  queer  toys  and  the  most  wonderful  kites  in  the 
world.  Nor  can  we  follow  them  through  the  different 
changes  ot  life  and  habits  until  they  grow  up  to  become 
young  men  and  women.  If  I were  writing  a book  for 
you,  there  should  be  mention  made  of  a thousand  and 
one  interesting  topics  concerning  the  little  ones  o 
China.  Life  in  China  is  so  different  from  your  life  in 
America,  that  to  understand  it  fully  one  must  live 
many  years  in  that  country. 

Let  us  now  see  what  we  can  do  for  these  Chinese 
boys  and  girls  in  the  name  of  Jesus  our  Savior.  The 
two  stories  of  the  brave  boy  and  of  Totsi  will  help  us 
to  see  that  the  children  of  China,  when  given  a good 
chance,  are  ready  to  give  up  their  idols  and  to  grow  in- 
to strong  and  firm,  as  well  as  noble,  Christian  faith. 
But  how  are  they  to  have  this  chance  of  a changed  and 
glorious  life  ? Who  will  tell  them  of  Jesus  and  God 
our  Father  and  the  Holy  Spirit  ? There  are  many 
earnest  men  and  women  who  have  gone  to  China  as 
missionaries  and  these  have  gathered  thousands  of  lit- 
tle ones  into  Christian  schools,  but  this  is  scarcely  more 
than  a good  beginning  in  the  work.  Loving  hands 
have  erected  hospitals  where  hundreds  of  thousands  are 


24 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


healed  every  year,  and  here,  too,  theory  is  for  more. 
Yes,  China  needs  more  missionaries  and  God  is  calling 
our  church  to  take  part  in  this  great  work.  You  can 
interest  your  father  and  mother,  your  friends  and  teach- 
ers in  China.  You  can  give  money  to  our  Board  to 
send  missionaries.  You  can  study  China  and  prepare 
yourselves  to  go  in  person  when  you  grow  old  enough. 
God  commands  us  to  do  great  things  for  China.  Are 
we  going  to  obey  ? Dear  little  friends,  tell  the  church 
that  she  is  called  to  love  China  and  to  help  save  her 
for  Christ  Jesus. 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


25 


CHAPTER  III. 

To  THE  Women  of  the  Church. 

One  day  of  my  sojourn  in  China  last  year  I re- 
ceived a certain  letter  from  m3'  wile  in  Japan.  She 
spoke  of  our  children,  of  herself,  and  the  burden  that 
was  coming  upon  me  in  behalf  of  China.  I had  writ- 
ten that  I felt  called  to  the  work  in  China,  to  start  a 
mission,  to  awaken  the  conscience  of  our  Church  on 
the  matter.  It  was  just  such  a letter  as  would  inspire 
any  man  to  take  up  serious  and  heavy  work  in  a new 
and  untried  field  for  the  Master.  It  carried  me  back 
to  Sendai  where  wife  and  children  were  beginning  to 
pray  for  China  as  well  as  for  Japan.  I said  to  myself, 
“Home,  sweet  home  !”  At  this  bright  mental  picture 
of  my  home  in  Sendai,  I was  greatly  startled  and  be- 
gan to  think,  “In  China  there  are  no  homes  as  such, 
in  our  sense  of  the  word.”  You.  Christian  women, 
have  homes,  you  make  homes.  3’ou  are  queens  of  hap- 
py homes.  You  have  3 0ur  place,  your  love,  your  in- 
spiration. As  I look  in  upon  3'our  happy  fireside, 
your  genial  board,  where  father  and  mother  gather  the 
children  around  them,  sons  and  daughters  equally 
loved,  equally  welcomed,  one  family,  free  and  alone,  I 
see  most  clearly  what  Christ  has  done  for  you  and  the 
home.  Millions  upon  millions  of  women  in  China 
with  nothing  but  misery  staring  them  in  the  face, 
dreary,  suffering  lives  at  the  mercy  of  ignorant,  su- 
perstitious and  unprincipled  men,  feel  a terrible  aching 
void  which  they  cannot  fill.  They  know  the  want, 
they  know  the  sorrow, but  they  do  not  know  the  remedy 


26 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


Oh ! what  the  women  of  China  suffer.  I saw  this  with  my 
own  eyes;and  from  what  lady  missionaries  tell  me.  What 
the  women  of  China  suffer  physically,  none  but  those 
who  have  lived  among  them  can  ever  know.  Think  of 
it  ! In  a few  months  I saw  enough  to  fill  me  with  pity 
for  all  life;  and  yet  the  missionaries  told  me  I must  be 
in  China  for  years  and  years  if  I wanted  to  have  a real 
idea  of  the  situation.  What  I know  I cannot  forget, 
or  disregard.  I must  hint  at  some  things,  for  Christ 
will  not  hold  me  guiltless  if  I do  not  do  all  in  my  pow- 
er to  move  you,  by  the  help  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  to  take 
fast  hold  of  women’s  work  for  women  in  China.  For 
nearly  one  year  the  burden  has  been  growing  upon  me 
to  appeal  to  you  in  behalf  of  nearly  one-fourth  of  all 
the  women  in  the  world.  I cannot  forget  that  nearly 
one  fourth  of  all  the  women  in  the  world  live  in  China; 
that  they  are  as  pieces  of  goods  to  be  bought  and  sold; 
that  the  horrors  that  surround  that  one  fact  alone  are 
horrors  that  I dare  not  open  to  you.  Christ  calls  you 
to  this  work.  These  women  really  need  you.  Aye, 
they  need  you. 

A Chinese  woman’s  life  begins  under  a shadow. 
She  is  born  unwelcomed  and  unloved,  for  so  far  as 
heaven  is  above  the  earth,  so  far  is  a male  child  above 
a female  child.  Instead  of  trailing  clouds  of  glory,  the 
little  girl  baby  brings  a train  of  dishonor  if  not  misfor- 
tune upon  the  disappointed  family.  She  grows  up  in 
ignorance  and  neglect,  drudging  in  daily  toil,  or  crying 
over  the  pain  of  her  crippled  feet.  More  than  once  I 
saw  scenes  of  girls  in  such  pain  as  beggars  description. 
In  the  Nankin  hospital  a young  woman’s  feet  were 
rotting  off  on  account  of  the  cruel  fashion  of  foot-bind- 
ing. 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH.  27 

f 


CHINESE  LADIES. 


28 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


Woman  in  China  is  a slave.  She  has  no  other 
idea  than  of  bondage.  “Woman  is  made  to  serve  in 
China,  and  the  bondage  is  often  a long  and  bitter  one; 
a life  of  servitude  to  her  parents;  a life  of  submission  to 
her  parents-in-law  at  marriage;  and^  the  looking  for- 
ward to  a life  of  bondage  to  her  husband.”  She  is 
often  betrothed  in  babyhood.  Then  she  is  transferred 
in  her  teens  to  the  tyrant  of  all  tyrants — the  Chinese 
mother-in  law.  Though  in  the  same  house,  she  fre- 
quently does  not  see  or  speak  to  the  man  she  is  to 
marry  before  the  wedding  day,  and  in  some  localities 
she  is  not  supposed  to  speak  to  her  husband  the  first 
three  years  of  her  married  life.  She  is  an  invisible,  name- 
less thing,  when  the  husband’s  friends  come  to  the 
house.  It  is  an  insult  lor  a visitor  to  inquire  about 
the  wife.  The  wife  is  the  household  slave.  The  hus- 
band finds  recreation  and  society  in  the  company  of 
bold  courtesans,  who  have  been  well  trained  in  music 
to  fit  them  to  entertain  gentlemen  (!)  Then  the  time 
comes  when  the  husband  will  buy  one  or  two  concu- 
bines and  bring  them  into  the  same  house  with  his 
wife.  Slighted  by  her  husband  for  some  new  favorite, 
jealous  of  the  influence  of  the  concubine,  many  a 
Chinese  wife  flies  from  ills  too  heavy  to  bear  and 
escapes  them  all  in  suicide. 

On  account  of  the  fact  that  the  brides  have  no 
voice  in  the  matter  of  selecting  husbands  for  them- 
sometimes  the  girls  of  a family,  or  clan,  will  bind  them- 
selves together  by  the  most  solemn  vows  to  avert  the 
dreaded  change  and  chance  of  being  married  to  an  un- 
attractive, deformed  or  vicious  man,  by  committing 
suicide.  And  perhaps  these  la.ssies  have  in  mind  that 
they  have  another  fate  with  which  to  battle;  for  the 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


29 


father  may  at  any  time  sell  his  daughter  to  the  first 
high  bidder  and  asks  no  questions.  Opium  smokers, 
reduced  to  poverty  by  their  bad  habits,  seldom  hesi- 
tate to  sell  wife,  daughters,  and  concubines.  The 
husband  and  father  may  dispose  of  the  female  inmates 
of  his  house  as  he  pleases.  What  a fateful  right  this 
is,  aud  Oh  ! the  pains  of  it  all. 

In  the  name  of  my  mother,  (who  died  thirty-five 
years  ago,  when  I was  but  a child  of  a little  more  than 
five,  I cannot  keep  quiet  any  longer.  I long  for  the 
time  when  every  home  in  China  may  have  as  gentle 
and  holy  a wife  and  mother  as  she  was.  In  my  first 
five  years  of  life  there  are  stored  away  precious  things 
that  link  me  to  a happy  being  in  Heaven  ! Oh  ! let  us 
not  wait.  Let  us  up  and  be  encouraged  to  undertake 
great  things  for  Christ  who  has  great  claims  in  China. 
Sisters  of  the  Church,  as  I think  of  you  and  of  the 
women  in  China,  who  by  contrast  are  so  degraded  and 
miserable,  I cannot.  Oh  ! I cannot  understand  why  you 
who  live  for  Christ  and  in  Christ  not  long  ago  under- 
taken woman’s  work  for  women  in  China.  Up  and 
obey  Christ.  Up  and  show  your  love  of  God  and  of 
service  for  souls.  Up  and  show  your  gratitude  for 
your  freedom  and  position  in  Christ.  Up,  my  sister, 
up  and  “following  in  His  steps’’  let  us  commence  a 
work  for  Christ.  Oh  ! where  is  our  real  sense  of  God  ? 
Where  is  our  spirit  of  Christian  sacrifice  ? How  soon 
can  we  be  fuller  of  helpfulness  to  China’s  Millions  ? 
Let  us  enter  the  field  at  once.  Now  is  the  time. 
China  is  open.  China  is  ready.  God  has  opened  the 
gates  of  that  great  empire.  Is  your  heart  open  to  the 
divine  call? 


30 


ONTO  CHINA. 


Mrs.  George  S.  Hays,  in  the  Missionary  Review, 
has  had  special  advantages  to  speak  to  you  on  The 
Women  of  China — Heatheji  and  Christian. 

“To  understand  a women — Chinese  or  American — 
one  must  have  some  knowledge  of  her  home,  and  her 
family  cares,  and  her  habits  of  thought.  A typical 
Chinese  family  consists  of  the  father  and  mother-in- 
law,  two  or  three  sons  and  their  wives,  and  several 
grand  children,  all  living  in  rooms  opening  upon  the 
same  high-walled  courtyard,  and  sharing  the  same 
kitchen. 

“The  father  and  sons  work  for  and  contribute  to 
the  common  purse,  and  so  strict  are  their  ideas  of  im- 
partiality, or  rather  so  jealous  is  each  member  of  the 
family  of  the  others,  that  a husband  may  not  take  even 
of  the  money  he  himself  has  earned  to  buy  a present 
for  his  own  wife,  without  buying  one  equally  valuable 
for  each  of  his  sisters-in-law.  The  Chinaman  has  ways 
and  means,  however,  of  evading  almost  every  law  or 
custom,  and  the  fond  hn.sband  buys  a handsome  gown 
and  sends  it  and  his  wife  for  a few  days  to  her  maternal 
home  From  there  she  will  return  triumphantly  dis- 
playing her  gown  as  a present  from  her  mother. 

“In  the  home  the  mother-in-law  is  usually  — but 
not  always — the  head.  Sometimes  a daughter-in-law 
of  unusually  bright  mind  or  vicious  temper,  rules  the 
whole  household.  The  quickest  way  a daughter-in- 
law  possesses  by  which  to  bring  her  mother-in-law  to 
subjection  is  threatening  suicide.  If  a woman  kills 
hti, self  her  spirit  is  supposed  to  return  to  haunt  the 
mother-in-law,  but  worse  than  this,  to  the  practical 
mind  of  the  Chinaman,  her  living  relatives  will  gather 
aiHt  bv  demanding  a costly  funeral,  will  plunge  the 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


31 


whole  family  into  debt  so  that  they  will  be  unable  to  pay 
for  years. 

“Imagine  the  situation  in  a Chinese  home,  and  it 
becomes  at  once  apparent  that  peace  and  happiness 
cannot  reign  continually.  On  the  one  hand  is  the 
daughter-in-law,  a young  girl,  perhaps  indulged  and 
spoiled  from  her  babyhood  in  her  mother’s  home,  and 
untrained  in  house  work  and  sewing.  She  is  suddenly 
introduce  by  marriage  into  a new  home.  Her  husband, 
her  mother-in-law,  her  neighbors,  are  all  total  strangers. 
She  is  miserably  homesick;  she  gets  wretchedly  tired 
doing  all  sorts  of  unaccustomed  work;  she  is  criticised, 
laughed  at,  or  reviled  for  her  stupidity  or  her  indolence. 

“On  the  other  hand  is  the  mother-in-law.  She 
has  perhaps  suffered  for  years  under  the  hard  reign  of 
her  mother-in-law;  she  is  now  ready  for  her  turn  to 
sit  on  the  throne.  She  expects  to  be  treated  with 
obedient  consideration  by  her  son’s  wife.  Instead  of 
this  she  discovers  that  her  new  daughter-in-law  is  sau- 
cy* careless,  and  w’asteful,  if  not  actually  thievish;  she 
is,  above  all,  taking  the  place  in  her  son’s  affections 
which  the  mother  has  always  held. 

“Remember,  they  are  two  heathen  women  with 
hot  and  hasty  tempers  wdiich  have  never  been  con- 
trolled; each  wnth  a stock  of  vile  words  and  insulting 
epithets  at  her  tongue’s  end,  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine 
the  result.  When  there  are  several  daughters-in-law 
in  the  same  house,  and  children  of  different  mothers 
ready  to  quarrel  at  an\  moment’s  notice,  and  each 
mother  ready  to  take  her  own  child  s part  to  the  bitter 
end,  it  is  often  ‘confusion  worse  c nfounded.’ 

“It is  well  in  .such  a household  if  there  be  one  at 
the  head  who  can  command  the  o edience  or  at  least 


32 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


a semblance  of  peace.  As  the  daughter-in-law  grows 
older  and  wiser,  as  they  bear  sons  to  add  luster  to  the 
family  name,  and  as  the  various  elements  of  the  family 
become  accustomed  to  each  other,  terrific  outbursts  of 
temper  and  violent  chastisements  by  the  mother-in-law 
become  less  frequent.  There  are,  of  cour.se,  .some  cases 
where  the  mother-in-law  and  the  .son’s  wife  live  to- 
gether in  loving  harmony,  but  these  are,  unfortunately, 
rare  exceptions. 

“The  sadde.st  and  most  hopele.ss  lot  in  China  is 
that  of  the  ‘nourished  daughter-in-law’ — the  girl  who, 
yet  too  young  to  marry,  is  sent  to  her  betrothed  hus- 
band’s home  because  of  her  parent’s  death  or  extreme 
poverty.  Her  mother-in-law  resents  this  most  vehe- 
mently. Why  should  she  be  called  upon  to  feed  and 
clothe  for  years  the  unfortunate  child  ? As  there  is 
no  one  to  take  the  girl’s  part,  .she  is  u.sually  over- 
worked, reviled,  beaten,  and  sometimes  half-starved 
and  driven  to  sleep  with  the  dogs  in  her  new  home. 
If  the  mother-in-law  goes  too  far,  however,  re.source 
may  be  had  to  a curious  mob  law,  as  far  as  I know 
only  practiced  by  the  women  of  China. 

“Not  long  ago  an  orphan  girl  was  .sent  to  live 
with  her  mother-in-law,  who  had  already  one  daughter- 
in-law  living  with  her.  The  child’s  betrothed  hus. 
band  was  an  industrious  busine.ss  man  a good  many 
years  older  than  herself.  He  was  seldom  at  home, 
and  even  when  there,  as  it  was  not  good  form  for  him 
to  take  any  notice  of  his  little  bride  before  marriage , 
he  knew  nothing  of  how  she  was  treated. 

“Although  the  girl  was  a gentle,  modest  child, 
afraid  to  say  or  do  anything  contrary  to  her  mother- 
in-law’s  wi.shes,  she  was  most  cruelly  beaten.  When 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH.  33 

she  was  thirteen  years  old  she  inadvertently  did  some- 
thing to  offend  her  mother  and  sister-in-law,  and  the 
two  women,  working  themselves  into  a fiendish  rage, 
killed  her  with  scissors,  cutting  her  flesh  horribly,  and 
slitting  her  tongue,  but  leaving  no  mark  on  her  face. 

“When  she  was  dead  they  carefully  dressed  her 
in  her  best  garments,  and,  according  to  custom,  were 
obliged  to  send  word  of  her  death  to  her  aunt,  her  only 
living  relative.  This  aunt  was  a desperate  character, 
a beggar  woman,  who  could  hope  or  fear  nothing  from 
the  magistrates,  as  she  had  not  enough  money  to  make 
it  worth  while  for  an  official  to  pay  any  attention  to 
her  case.  She  obeyed  the  summons  at  once,  and  after 
carefully  examining  the  body  of  the  dead  child,  re- 
turned home,  and  gathering  together  thirty  or  forty 
women,  each  armed  with  an  awl  or  sharp  pointed  in- 
strument, came  to  execute  vengeance  on  the  murder- 
ers. The  two  women,  however,  managed  to  hide 
themselves,  and  the  infuriated  mob  were  obliged  to 
disperse,  after  being  assured  by  the  bridegroom,  who 
was  horrified  at  the  dreadful  death  of  his  bride,  that  a 
grand  and  costly  funeral  should  be  given  in  her  honor. 

“In  another  instance  within  my  knowledge,  a 
mother-in-law  who  had  beaten  her  daughter-in-law  to 
death  did  not  escape  so  easily.  In  this  case  the  mur- 
deress was  caught  by  the  mob  of  women  armed  with 
awls  and  sharp  metal  pins;  they  dragged  her  out  into 
the  street,  stripped  her  of  her  clothing  and  pricked  and 
jagged  her  furiously.  Then  they  dragged  her  over 
the  stones  the  whole  length  of  the  street  two  or  three 
times,  and  finally  left  he’’,  after  having  pushed  a quanti- 
ty of  briars  and  small  thorns  into  her  flesh.  She  was 
carried  home  by  her  friends  more  dead  than  alive. 


34 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


“No  one  in  that  village  has  dared  to  kill  her  daughter- 
in-law  since  that  time,'  was  the  significant  conclusion 
given  by  the  Christian  woman  telling  me  the  story. 

“It  is  frightful  to  see  a woman  deliberately  “nour- 
ish wrath,’  as  the  Chinese  express  it.  The  word 
translated  ‘nourish’  can  also  be  rendered  ‘kindle,’ 
as  in  ‘kindle  a fire,’  and  is  most  expressive  in  connec- 
tion with  the  working  up  of  anger.  It  was  once  my 
unfortnate  experience  to  see  my  nurse  maid  ‘nourish’ 
or  ‘kindle  wrath.’  One  day,  after  having  a quarrel 
with  the  washer  woman,  she  sat  down  in  spite  of  my 
remonstrances,  and  deliberately  gave  way  to  her  evil 
passions.  She  drew  her  breath  in  with  great  violence 
at  long  and  regular  intervals,  until  she  became  wholly 
unconscious  of  her  surroundings. 

“In  this  state,  which  lasted  about  forty  hours,  she 
threw  herself  about  violently,  and  talked  deliriously, 
especially  after  I had  applied  the  mustard  plasters 
which  I had  heard  were  effective  in  such  cases.  Al- 
tho  I lean  toward  homeopathic  treatment,  on  this 
occasion  I made  two  plasters  thick  and  strong,  one  foot 
broad  by  two  feet  long,  and  applied  them  on  her  chest 
and  down  her  back.  While  I was  preparing  the  plas- 
ters my  cook  told  me  that  the  Chinese  would  call  one 
in  this  condition  ‘possessed  of  demons.’  I am  glad  to 
state  that  by  the  aid  of  these  mustard  plasters,  I exor- 
cised the  demons,  and  better  yet,  that  they  have  never 
dared  to  return  to  that  woman. 

“She  came  legitimately  by  her  temper.  She  often 
told  me  of  her  grandfather,  who  had  a long  wished- 
for  and  only  son  born  to  him  late  in  life.  He  was  so 
greatly  delighted  that  he  went  in  and  out  of  his  wife’s 
room,  exclaiming,  ‘Aren’t  you  happy!  Aren’t  you 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH.  35 

happy !’ After  repeatedly  replying  in  the  affirmative, 
the  old  lady  becoming  irritable,  answered  most  em- 
phatically, ‘No,  I am  not  happy.'  Whereupon  the 
old  man  ‘nourished  wrath,’  refused  to  eat  and  drink, 
and  died  in  a few  days.  Serious  illness  or  death  often 
follows  this  deliberate  giving  way  to  anger. 

“Women  who  claim  to  be  possessed  of  a ‘fox  or 
a w'olf  god’  are  much  feared  and  reverenced  by  the 
Chinese.  I once  asked  an  intelligent  Christian  wom- 
an, Su  May,  whether  she  had  known  any  women  claim- 
ing this  possession.  She  answered  that  she  had  met 
with  very  few,  and  those  all  claimed  to  be  possessed 
of  a ‘fox  god.’  When  a pupil  in  one  of  our  Christian 
schools  she  had  been  allowed  by  the  matron,  who  had 
not  yet  given  up  all  her  heathen  superstitions,  to  wit- 
ness the  attempted  healing  of  a very  sick  child  by  a 
woman  possessed  of  a ‘fox  god.’ 

“Several  of  the  school  girls  stole  into  the  room 
while  the  woman  mumbled  the  incantations,  intelligible 
only  to  herself,  and  it  was  not  long  before  she  turned 
angrily  to  the  matron,  and  claiming  that  her  god  could 
do  nothing  in  the  presence  of  those  believing  in  the 
‘Jesus  doctrine,’  gave  up  the  case  and  went  away.  She 
afterward  bitterly  reproached  the  woman  who  had  con- 
ducted her  to  the  school  saying:  ‘You  should  not  have 
taken  me  there.  Don’t  you  know  I hav^e  nothing  to  do 
with  the  people  holding  this  belief?  She  declared  the 
child  would  surely  die,  as  she  was  the  runaway  soul  of 
a nun,  who  had  in  her  previous  existence  broken  a 
bowl,  and  her  mistress  was  calling  to  her  to  come  back 
and  account  for  the  damage  done  to  her  property. 
But  the  child  recovered  in  spite  of  their  prophecy. 

“After  Su  May  left  school  her  father  took  her  for 


36 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


a visit  amoug  old  family  friends  whom  she  had  not  seen 
since  a little  girl.  Nearly  every  woman  and  child  in 
the  village  crowded  to  see  the  natural-footed  girl  who 
had  been  educated  by  foreigners,  and  among  them 
came  a woman  who  at  once  caught  Su  May’s  attention 
from  her  resemblance  to  the  woman  possessed  of  a “fox 
god.’’  She  entered  the  room  in  a gliding,  serpentine 
manner,  with  averted  eyes,  which  were  never  lifted  in 
a straightforward,  direct  look  into  the  face  of  another. 
By  slipping  behind  some  of  the  other  women  she 
sought  to  avoid  notice,  but  Su  May  said  to  her  at  once, 
“You  are  possessed  of  a ‘fox  god;’  aren’t  you  ?’’ 

“ ‘Dreadful  !’  the  woman  gasped.  ‘How  do  you 
know  ? No  one  told  you  about  me,  for  I have  been 
watching  you.  ’ 

“ ‘I  have  a way  of  recognizing  you”  answered  Su 
May,  ‘but  I wont  tell  you  my  way.’ 

“ ‘Are  you  possessed  of  a god  also?  asked  the 
woman. 

“ ‘Yes,  answered  Su  May;  ‘I  have  the  true  God  in 
me.  He  is  with  me  all  the  time.  Is  your  ‘fox  god’ 
with  you  ? Let  him  speak  to  us  through  you.’ 

“ ‘My  god  has  gone  to  Shanghai,’  confusedly  an- 
swered the  woman,  slinking  out  of  the  room  as  rapidly 
as  possible. 

“Another  woman  of  this  kind  was  for  a time  in 
Mrs.  Nevin’s  sewing  class,  but  she  declared  she  could 
not  prophesy  before  the  Christian  school  girls.  The 
most  striking  part  of  Su  May’s  stay  was  her  statement 
that  all  the  possessed  women  of  whom  she  had  known 
or  heard  confessed  at  once  on  hearing  the  name  of  Jesus 
Christ  that,  ‘He  is  true;  he  is  the  Son  of  the  true  God.’ 
And  while  others  around  might  mock  and  jeer  at  the 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


37 


preaching  of  the  Gospel,  they  either  listened  with  re- 
spectful attention  or  evaded  it  entirely. 

“The  women  who  claim  a ‘wolf  god’  are  of  a 
fierce  nature,  advising  more  cruel  methods  of  averting 
misfortune  or  curing  the  sick  than  those  who  are  un- 
der the  guidance  of  a ‘fox  god.’  A pretty  mandarin 
living  near  Chefoo,  having  two  wives,  had  the  great 
misfortune  of  having  no  children.  In  great  discon- 
tent with  this  state  of  affairs,  he  sent  for  a woman  pos- 
sessed of  a ‘wolf  god,’  and  asked  her  to  tell  him  the 
reason  for  all  of  his  ill  fortune.  She  was  a total  stranger 
to  him  and  to  both  of  his  wives,  so  it  could  not  have 
been  an  old  grudge  or  wish  for  revenge  that  influenced 
her  demands.  She  told  him  he  would  never  have  good 
luck  as  long  as  he  kept  his  second  wife;  that  she  must 
not  be  divorced,  but  killed.  The  head  wife  was  in 
real  sorrow  at  this  verdict,  and  begged  the  mandarin 
to  spare  the  unfortunate  woman’s  life,  but  he  remained 
determined  to  follow  the  ‘wolf  god’s’  advice.  Strip- 
ping the  heavy  wadded  garments  from  his  second  wife 
(with  whom,  as  far  as  known,  he  had  no  previous 
quarrel,)  he  drove  her  out  into  the  bitter  cold,  where 
she  was  soon  frozen  to  death. 

The  religious  feelings  of  Chinese  women  vary 
greatly  in  different  localities.  In  some  places  they  are 
distinctly  religious,  visiting  temples,  worshiping  daily 
at  a private  shrine  in  the  home,  fasting,  pra3'ing  and 
endeavoring  by  good  works  to  lay  up  for  themselves  a 
reward  in  the  future  world.  In  the  eastern  part  of 
Shantung  Province  this  was  not  the  case.  The  wom- 
en, as  a rule,  never  visit  the  temples  and  worship  no 
private  gods  They  are,  of  course,  filled  with  many 
vague  and  dark  superstitions.  Hard  worked,  improp- 


38 


ONTO  CHINA. 


erly  nourished,  easily  distracted  and  excited  by  the 
little  details  of  life,  they  seem  to  give  little,  if  any, 
thought  to  the  future  after  death.  It  is  commonly  be- 
lieved that  a woman  will  change  at  death  into  a pig — 
considered  the  filthiest  of  animals — to  atone  for  the 
sins  committed  during  her  lifetime,  such  as  polluting 
pure  water,  wasting  food,  cutting  cloth,  reviling  her 
husband,  worrying  her  mother-in-law,  etc.  From  a 
pig  to  a woman,  a woman  to  a pig,  the  dreary  trans- 
migration goes  on  forever.  Others  believe  in  total 
annihilation,  but  most  women  dismiss  the  question  of  a 
future  life  by  a careless,  “who  knows  ?”  or  by  the  sad 
statement,  “I  fear  no  future  suffering.  My  lot  cannot 
possibly  be  worse  in  the  world  to  come  than  it  is  in 
this  life.”  It  is  evident  even  in  such  spiritual  ignor- 
ance that  the  Chinese  women  feel  that  there  is  some- 
thing wrong  in  their  lives.  That  the  future  cannot  be 
worse  than  the  present — to  change  from  woman  into 
pig,  and  from  pig  into  woman,  in  an  endless  series  of 
births  and  rebirths — is  at  least  a negative  longing  for 
something  better. 

“This  picture  of  heathen  womanhood  would  be 
misleading,  dark  and  gloomy  if  all  bright  coloring  were 
omitted.  It  is  indeed  a black  and  bitter  life,  even 
among  the  heathen  homes  that  get  no  ray  of  light  oc- 
casionally. Hunger  satisfied,  though  with  coarsest 
food,  a refreshing  breeze  after  a hot  day,  warmth  in 
winter,  a shelter  and  rest  at  night,  the  doubtful  joy  of 
having  overcome  an  adversary  in  a reviling  match,  or, 
the  relief  of  escaping  with  whole  bones  from  a fierce 
quarrel,  make  a lining  to  the  black  cloud  life,  which,  if 
not  silver,  is  at  least  lighter  than  the  prevailing  hue. 

“But  we  may  certainly  call  bright  silver  the  joy- 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


39 


ous  smile  of  an  innocent  child,  the  true  love  which 
children  give  to  and  receive  from  their  mother,  vigor- 
ous health  with  few  nerves,  and  the  natural  love  of  life, 
which  is  the  portion  of  all  God’s  creatures.  Add  to 
this  an  apathetic  disposition,  an  astonishing  lack  of 
envy  of  those  in  better  circumstances,  and  the  fact 
that  a quarrel,  which  would  drive  an  American  wom- 
an into  a long  siege  of  nervous  prostration, is  but  meat 
and  drink  to  the  ordinary  Chinese  woman,  and  one  has 
a clearer  insight  into  their  lives. 

“Many  deeds  of  unselfish  and  even  heroic  kind- 
ness are  performed  in  heathen  homes,  of  which  the 
world  hears  nothing.  In  no  other  land  are  daughters 
more  carefully  guarded  from  impurity  of  action — the 
purity  of  thought  or  word  is  considered  unimportant. 
Altho  the  children  do  not  render  the  cheerful  obedience 
which  Christianit}'  demands,  yet  the  care  of  infirm  and 
aged  parents  is  a rule  rarely  departed  from. 

“But  notwithstanding  all  these  ameliorating  cir- 
cumstances, it  is  with  a feeling  of  distinct  relief  that 
one  leaves  a heathen  home,  too  often  filled  with  a ‘dark- 
ness that  can  be  felt,  ’ and  enters  the  home  of  a Christ- 
ian. 

“After  a morning  spent  with  a Chinese  woman, 
she  interrupted  my  gospel  message  with  the  question, 
‘Is  your  mother-in-law  living  ?’  ‘No,’  I answered. 

‘Does  your  husband  get  drunk?’  ‘No.’  ‘Does  he 
smoke  opium  ?’  ‘No.’  ‘Does  he  beat  you ?’  ‘No,’ I 

replied,  ‘he  has  never  struck  me  a blow  in  his  life.’ 
It  took  her  several  moments  to  become  convinced  of 
this  astonishing  fact,  and  then  she  turned  to  me,  say- 
ing impressively;  ‘you  have  been  talking  to  me  of 


40 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


heaven  and  hell  in  the  world  to  come.  Your  life  now 
and  mine  are  as  heaven  and  hell.  ’ 

“Those  who  have  seen  the  changed  lives  and 
happy  homes  of  many  Chinese  women  can  testify  glad- 
ly that  nothing  but  Christianity  could  perform  such 
miracles.  One  of  the  strongest  proofs  a Christian 
Chinese  woman  can  make  of  her  sincerity  is  in  unbind- 
ing her  own  or  her  daughter’s  feet.  In  Shantung, 
with  the  exception  of  a few  slaves  or  prostitutes  and 
Manchus,  all  women,  whatever  their  condition  of  life, 
bind  their  feet.  It  requires  an  enormous  amount  of 
moral  courage  for  a Chinese  woman  to  go  about  with 
natural  feet,  thus  incurring  the  curiosity,  ridicule  and 
evil  insinuations  of  everyone  she  meets.  The  change, 
therefore,  is  very  slow,  but  it  is  surely  coming,  owing 
to  the  influence  of  Christian  schools  and  antifootbind- 
ing societies,  or  rather  to  the  influence  of  Christianity'. 

“An  old  godly  elder,  in  the  church  at  Chefoo, 
whose  Christianity  was  real  enough  to  break  an  opium 
habit,  strong  with  the  practice  of  many  years,  was 
very  fond  of  telling  of  the  change  Christianity  wrought 
in  his  wife:  ‘Before  .she  became  a Christian  she  had  a 
most  violent  temper,’  he  would  .say,  in  his  slow’,  gen- 
tle manner.  ‘She  would  scold  and  revile  most  abus- 
ively, and  we  were  all  afraid  of  her.  But  since  she 
has  become  a Christian  all  is  changed.  Why  now  she 
has  not  even  a disposition  left,’  w’as  always  his  quaint 
conclusion. 

‘‘Truly  in  a heathen  land  is  most  clearly  illustrat- 
ed the  truth,  ‘By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know'  them.’  ’’ 

‘‘Now,  dear  sisters,  these  facts,  hard  facts  of  hea- 
then daily  life  have  been  laid  before  yon.  You  know 
the  facts.  You  have  knowledge  of  the  misery  of  Chin- 


TO  THE  WOMEN  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


4' 


ese  women  Are  you  willing  to  help  your  Chinese 
sisters  ? You  are  abundantly  able  to  help.  Most  of 
all,  do  not  let  another  day  pass  without  taking  a HEROIC 
stayid for  Christ' s cause  in  Chma.  Delay  now  will 
make  it  still  more  difiBcult  to  begin  later  on,  We  need 
missionaries  in  China  for  three  reasons,  at  least:  for 
Christ’s  sake,  for  China’s  sake,  for  the  sake  of  ourselves. 
There  is  undeveloped  spiritual  abilit}^  among  us. 
Work  this  unto  its  destined  end  and  great  will  be  the 
results.  Yes,  China  needs  you,  consecrated  Christ- 
ian women,  for  Bible  and  evangelistic  work,  for  hospi- 
tal work,  for  school  work.  I know  you  are  working 
hard  for  Japan.  God  bless  you  for  this  cause.  But 
you  are  capable  of  more  and  farther  work.  Let  no 
stone  remain  unturned  in  the  present  effort  for  a mis- 
sion in  China.  How  do  we  read  our  Bible,  if  we  are 
able  to  pass  by  China  and  her  nearly  one-fourth  of  the 
human  race  ? Oh  ! can  we  not  think  of  Christ’s  life 
of  .'',acrifice  ? Caa  we  not  make  more  and  more  sacri- 
fices for  Christ?  Is  it  nothing  to  you  to  know  Chinese 
womanhood?  What  has  not  Christ  done  for  you? 
What  cannot  you  in  and  through  Christ  do  for  China? 
In  the  beauty  and  holiness  of  faith  in  our  Saviour,  let 
us  go  forward  ! 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


A CHINESE  OFFICIAL. 


TO  THE  PASTORS  OF  OUR  CHURCH. 


43 


CHAPTER  IV. 

To  The  Pastors  of  Our  Church. 

During  the  last  year  we  have  seen  our  country 
win  great  victories  by  land  and  by  sea.  The  names 
of  our  heroes  have  become  household  words  all  the 
world  over.  Thousands  of  our  young  men — many  of 
them  choice  spirits  indeed — left  home  in  the  cause  of 
freedom  for  the  isles  of  the  sea,  east  and  west.  The 
brotherhood  of  man  for  man  has  received  anew  its 
baptism  of  blood,  and  a favorite  poet  challenges  us  with 

“THE  WHITE  man’s  BURDEN.” 

And  all  this  in  the  name  of  the  children  of  men. 

Two  thousand  years  ago  Jesus  our  Lord  took  up 
infinitely  more  than  the  white  man’s  burden  can  mean 
today.  On  the  cross  he  bore  what  the  heart  of  man 
has  not  apprehended.  He  had  no  armies,  with  flags 
fluttering  in  the  breeze  and  men  shouting  that  shout 
which  maketh  of  a thousand  men  an  invincible  march 
of  progress  and  principle.  His  strength  was  not  in  a 
navy  whose  might  aroused  the  wonder  of  an  acclaiming 
world.  No : alone,  alone — and  theagony  of  Gethsemane 
may  show  us  what  that  meant — alone  He  took  up  the 
cross  and  faced  a hostile  world  and  went  forth  into 
humanity’s  battle,  not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but 
against  principalities,  against  powers,  against  the  rulers 
of  the  darkness  of  this  world,  against  spiritual  wicked- 
ness in  high  places.  In  the  eyes  of  the  world  He  failed. 
The  cross  had  seemingly  no  power.  “Death  and 
defeat,”  laughingly  said  His  enemies,  “are  weak  twin 


44 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


brothers  at  the  mouth  of  the  tomb;  and  dead  men  can 
never  conquer  the  living.” 

But  what  say.  the  sons  of  God  today  ? The  cross 
is  mightier  than  the  sword,  greater  than  armies,  more 
powerful  than  navies.  Yet  this  is  true,  the  battles  of 
the  cross  are,  humanly  speaking,  as  lonely  as  ever. 
There  is  living  today  a grand  old  missionary,  who, 
with  the  truth  of  the  cross,  with  the  lite-giving  teach- 
ings of  the  Bible,  has  won  greater  victories  over  canni- 
bal inhabitants  of  the  isles  of  God’s  beautiful  seas,  than 
those  achieved  by  the  American  army  and  navy  over 
the  Spaniards  In  our  army  and  navy  our  men  had 
the  inspiration  and  the  dominio7i  of  comradeship  to 
help  them  in  their  contests  of  skill  and  valor.  What 
veteran  missionary  has  stood  and  fought  alone  many  a 
time  ? “Not  by  might,  nor  by  pow'er,  but  by  m}'  Spirit, 
saith  the  Lord  of  hosts.’’  None  but  those  who  have 
stood  in  the  midst  ot  heathenism  can  ever  understand 
the  loneliness  of  those  who  bear  the  cross  of  Christ  to 
the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth. 

The  kingdoms  of  this  world  have  a much  stronger 
hold  on  the  minds  and  hearts  of  even  God’s  professing 
children  than  the  kingdom  of  God.  The  hostilities 
between  Spain  and  the  United  States  began  while  I was 
in  China.  During  this  time  many  of  you,  perhaps  all 
of  you,  have  delivered  eloquent  sermons  on  the  princi- 
ples at  issue.  Did  not  that  seem  more  real  to  you  and 
your  people  than  themes  connected  with  the  spread  of 
Christ’s  Gospel  in  the  world  ? While  the  Church  gave 
her  sons  for  the  cause  of  Cuba,  at  first  not  unmixed 
with  a wrath  that  is  not  godly,  did  you  not  give  them 
your  blessing  ? In  the  meanwhile  how  much  time  and 
thought  have  you  given  to  the  Lord’s  call  to  go  for- 


TO  THE  PASTORS  OF  THE  CHURCH. 


45 


ward  into  China  in  ihe  name  of  Jesus  rather  than  in  the 
name  of  the  United  States  ? I watched  most  keenly 
the  drift  of  events  and  I thank  God  for  your  gifts, 
national  rather  than  spiritual,  political  rather  than 
ethical,  which  you  gave  to  the  cause  of  the  east  and 
the  west;  but  I could  not  and  do  not  today  understand 
why  God’s  men  and  women  should  hesitate  to  take  up 
work  in  China  to  help  establish  the  kingdom  of  God 
in  that  great  empire.  Questions  arose  in  my  mind 
that  have  not  yet,  to  my  pain  been  answered. 

More  than  once  did  this  your  brother  stand  in  the 
presence  of  the  indescribable  poverty,  idolatry  and 
superstition  of  the  masses  of  China.  Poverty  ? Aye, 
men  for  want  of  food  dying  by  the  wayside.  And  then 
the  dogs  fighting  over  human  flesh,  and  woe  unto  the 
missionary  into  whose  yard  a stray  cur  may  carry  a 
human  bone.  Do  you  know  what  it  means  ? A 
Chinese,  who  hates  the  name  of  Christ,  will  perhaps, 
find  that  bone  and  testify  against  the  missionary  and 
in  a short  time  thousands  of  furious  Chinese  will  grow 
hot  and  hotter  over  the  report  that  missionaries  use 
some  parts  of  the  human  body — Chinese  body — for 
medicine.  Then  the  mob,  sometimes  ten  thousand 
men  and  women  thirsting  for  the  blood  of  God’s 
messengers,  make  day  black  as  night  with  rapine. 

The  shame  of  idolatry  is  forever  before  me.  I saw 
and  heard  things  in  China  that  I would  tell  very  few 
of  my  most  intimate  friends.  Writers  speak  of  the 
lofty  philosophy  of  the  religions  of  China.  They  show 
delight  in  Chinese  principles  that  may  be  made,  they 
say,  the  basis  of  a compromise  with  Christianity.  “The 
beautiful  religions’’  of  China  need  only  a little  of  the 
Christian’s  polish,  only  a little  of  the  righteousness  of 


46 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


Christ,  only  a little  of  the  idea  of  God;  all  else  is  good 
enough.  These  men  who  praise  the  religions  evident- 
ly know  very  little  of  the  practical  side  of  life  in  China 
under  the  sway  of  the  religions  of  the  empire.  Would 
they  be  willing  to  put  their  mothers,  sisters,  wives  and 
daughters  into  a Chinese  home?  No:  a thousand  times 
no.  Let  no  one  deceive  you  on  this  matter.  The 
religions  of  China  are  a curse  to  the  people.  They  are 
as  death  in  life.  The  priests  themselves  are  exceedingly 
corrupt  and  go  about  selecting  beautiful  women  for  the 
gods.  The  gods  want  a bride.  She  is  found.  She 
is  bound.  She  is  a slave  to  a system  of  religious  prac- 
tices unmentionable.  Oh!  the  holiness  of  the  Lord, 
as  compared  with  the  religions  of  China.  Beautiful 
moral  precepts  followed  by  no  one,  philosophical  dis- 
sertations on  things  terrestial  and  celestial,  without 
the  idea  of  God,  of  true  man,  of  vital  personal  virtue 
and  purity  can  keep  not  even  the  least  of  the  children 
of  men.  Idols  of  hearts  and  birds  and  reptiles  and 
men  many  of  them  symbols  of  acts  most  unclean — 
is  it  any  wonder  one  should  find  his  heart  going  out  to 
these  poor  benighted  people?  Let  no  one  deceive  you. 
China  needs  the  Gospel  of  Christ,  the  story  of  the  cross 
more  than  she  needs  anything  else.  Let  no  one  de- 
ceive you.  It  is  a visible,  tangible  truth  that  Christ 
alone  is  Saviour.  For  witness  the  change  in  a Chinese 
after  his  conversion.  Has  he  been  an  opium  smoker  ? 
Then  he  has*been  rescued  from  among  a host  of  slaves 
of  abnormal^appetite.  He  has  been  born  anew,  from 
on  high, and  his  new  birth  may  have  been  in  Foochow, 
a city  in  which  there  are  said  to  be  over  i ,000  registered 
opium  dens.  C Perhaps  it  was  in  Nanking  where  there 
is  one  opium  den  to  every  100  of  the  inhabitants. 


TO  THE  PASTORS  OF  OUR  CHURCH. 


47 


Millions  upon  millions  of  these  unhappy  beings  des- 
troying body  and  soul  and  home  ! Poverty  comes  and 
wife  and  concubines  and  daughters  are  sold  into  the 
house  of  hell  to  keep  up  the  expensive  habit.  Has 
the  man  been  born  again  from  among  such  places  ? 
Yes.  But  the  struggle  he  must  pass  through  is  severe. 
Jesus  helps  him  and  strength  is  given  him  to  become 
a man.  He  may  now  be  too  poor  to  .save  the  inmates 
of  the  home  his  habits  broke  up.  Enter  the  great  dens. 
See  the  men,  or  even  women  and  children  smoking 
away  every  sense  of  self-respect.  The  whole  body  is 
poisoned.  Even  in  my  short  visit  I learned  to  know 
the  opium  poison  as  it  pales  the  cheek  and  dims  the 
eye.  Men,  women  and  children  redeemed  from  such 
places  become  happy  in  telling  others  how  to  be  cured 
from  the  sin  and  curse  of  opium  smoking.  Blessed  be 
God  ! There  is  salvation  even  from  opium  smoking; 
but  it  Cometh  not  from  Chinese  religions. 

Perhaps  you  have  read  my  series  of  letters  on 
China.  I have  there  at  some  length  given  you  the 
gist  of  what  I saw  and  heard.  Repetition  here  is,  no 
doubt,  needless.  Let  us  now  hear  Rev.  H.  H.  Lowry, 
D.  D.,  on  “The  Outlook  in  China,”  as  given  in  the 
‘ ‘ Gospel  in  All  Lands.  ’ ’ 

“The  value  of  an  outlook  depends  largely  upon 
the  standpoint  from  which  it  is  taken.  Christian 
workers,  while  engaged  with  their  hard  task  and  con- 
fronted with  its  difl&culties,  may  sometimes  become 
discouraged  and  take  a gloomy  view  of  their  work. 
The  outlook  of  the  soldiers  in  the  valley  may  not  be  so 
hopeful  as  that  of  the  general  on  the  hilltop,  though 
the  battle  may  be  progressing  toward  victory. 

“The  first  standpoint  from  which  I would  invite 


48  ON  TO  CHINA. 

you  to  take  an  outlook  is  that  of  accomplished  results. 

“For  some  days  we  have  been  reviewing  fifty  years 
of  labor  here  in  Foochow  and  in  this  province.  Our 
hearts  have  been  stirred  by  the  recital  and  we  have 
cried,  in  grateful  amazement,  ‘What  has  God  wrought  ?’ 
The  contrast  betw'een  the  circumstances  and  work  of 
the  earlier  missionaries  and  the  present  is  very  great. 
The  narrow  and  unhealthful  quarters  on  the  little 
island  in  the  river  have  given  place  to  these  four  com- 
pounds on  the  hill.  With  difficulty  they  could  secure 
tracts  for  their  use;  now  a large  press  prints  all  needed 
supplies.  We  now  see  hospitals,  schools,  a college 
and  theological  seminary,  and,  as  a fitting  crown  to  the 
whole,  this  beautiful  church.  Fifty  years  ago  the 
foundations  were  laid;  we  now  rejoice  in  the  success 
achieved. 

“But  we  constitute  only  one  division  of  God’s 
great  army  in  China.  While  we  have  been  struggling  to 
advance  the  lines  in  our  special  field  God  has  been  send- 
ing other  divisions  to  push  forward  the  work  from  other 
positions.  And  now,  instead  of  the  feeble  beginning 
of  fifty  years  ago  in  only  five  cities  of  the  empire, 
churches  are  established  in  all  the  eighteen  provinces, 
over  forty  missionary  societies  are  carrying  on  the 
work  with  about  2,000  missionaries,  3,000  native 
agents  and  100,000  converts.  Thousands  of  children 
are  being  educated  in  mission  schools,  several  hundred 
thousand  patients  are  annually  treated  in  the  hospi- 
tals and  dispensaries,  and  many  millions  of  pages  of 
Scripture  and  Christian  literature  are  printed  each  year 
and  circulated  among  the  people. 

“As  we  look  out  from  this  standpoint  our  attention 
is  first  arrested  by  the  wonderful  material  progress  \}asX 


TO  THE  PASTORS  OF  OUR  CHURCH. 


49 


has  been  made.  All  this  progress  is  part  of  G od’s 
agencies  in  carrying  forward  this  work.  Everything 
that  aids  in  the  development  of  the  country  is  part  of 
the  equipment  of  the  Church  in  its  advance  among  the 
nations. 

“It  is  reported  that  Li  Hung  Chang  once  rather 
impatiently  asked,  ‘Why  is  it  that  all  these  valuable 
improvements  come  from  the  West?’  The  true  answer 
is  that  Christianity  quickens  all  the.  faculties  of  men, 
intellectual  as  well  as  spiritual,  so  in  reality  they  be- 
come new  creatures  in  Christ  Jesus.  And  for  this 
reason  China,  or  any  other  nation,  will  make  a fatal 
mistake  in  hoping  to  receive  the  advantages  and  power 
of  Western  civilization  without  first  seeking  that  spirit- 
ual power  of  which  all  these  things  are  the  fruit.  The 
Gospel  is  the  root  from  which  all  true  reform  and 
prosperity  grows.  The  telegraph,  railways,  factories 
and  machinery  may  be  welcomed  as  part  of  God’s 
comprehensive  plan  establishing  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
in  the  world. 

“These  material  conditions  are  to  be  welcomed 
not  only  for  these  reasons  but  also  because  of  the  in- 
creased facilities  they  give  us  in  carrying  on  our  work. 
It  took  the  first  missionaries  five  or  six  months  to 
reach  China;  now  the  journey  can  be  made  in  as  many 
weeks.  Bishop  Foster  was  nearly  a week  in  going 
from  Tientsin  to  Peking;  the  distance  can  now  be  made 
in  four  hours.  Formerly  it  required  months  to  get 
word  from  New  York  in  response  to  letters  from  the 
field;  now  a few  hours  may  bring  back  the  answer. 
Communication  is  now  easy  and  rapid  between  our 
various  fields  in  China.  But,  more  than  that,  these 
advances  in  material  progress  bring  China  and  the 


50 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


great  Christian  world  along  side  by  side  as  neighbors. 

“From  this  standpoint  there  appears  another  con- 
dition that  is  encouraging — that  is,  the  chatiged  attitude 
of  the  government  and  officials  toward  us  and  our 
work.  It  is  not  that  all  opposition  has  been  with- 
drawn— for  many  officials  still  hinder  us  all  they  can — 
but  the  Church  and  its  workers  have  been  publicly 
acknowledged  and  their  right  to  exist  and  make  con- 
verts proclaimed  by  the  emperor  himself,  and  that 
protection  must  be  given  to  our  persons,  property  and 
converts.  While  we  do  not  claim  that  the  government 
is  friendly,  it  has  ceased  to  be  openly  hostile;  and  that 
is  a very  decided  adv^ance. 

“But,  more  important  than  all,  we  behold  this 
great  field  white  already  to  the  harvest.  We  find  our- 
selves no  longer  confined  to  a few  cities  along  the  sea- 
coast,  but  the  whole  of  the  eighteen  provinces  are 
thrown  wide  open  for  carrying  on  Christian  work.  In 
the  most  distant  portions  of  Yun-nan  and  Kuei-chau, 
far  away  on  the  borders  of  Tibet,  may  be  found  men 
and  women  testifying  for  Christ.  Christian  churches 
are  being  multiplied  all  over  the  empire,  and  every 
building  erected  is  a silent  witness  of  the  permanency 
of  our  work  and  a pledge  of  final  triumph. 

“Progress  has  been  made  along  all  lines  of  work. 
Witness  the’educational  work,  with  its  day  schools, 
boarding  schools  and  colleges  where  the  youth  of  the 
land  may  be  fitted  for  responsible  positions  in  the  new 
China  that  already  appears  above  the  horizon.  It  is 
also  a significant  fact  that  in  almost  all  the  government 
schools  of  high  grade  that  have  been  proposed  they 
have  been  compelled  to  seek  their  chief  teachers  among 
the  missionaries.  I can  o ily  refer  to  the  work  of  the 


TO  THE  PASTORS  OF  OUR  CHURCH. 


51 


hospitals  and  dispensaries  with  their  consecrated  men 
and  women  who  are  giving  such  practical  illustrations 
of  Christianity;  and  the  press,  which  has  proved  such 
a powerful  agency  in  disseminating  Christian  truth  and 
in  molding  public  opinion.  All  these  constitute  the 
modern  equipment  of  the  evangelistic  effort  to  bring 
the  Gospel  to  the  people,  and  which  have  been  owned 
of  God  in  accomplishing  sncli  glorious  results. 

“Thus,  from  the  standpoint  of  accomplished  re- 
sults we  see  the  whole  empire  being  permeated  with 
the  truth  and  that  a feeling  of  hopefnlne.ss  and  expect- 
ancy pervades  both  native  and  foreign  workers,  and- 
that  there  is  a manifest  and  prevailing  conviction  that 
we  are  on  the  eve  of  victory.  From  this  standpoint 
the  country  is  ours,  and  we  should  possess  it  in  the 
name  of  our  Master. 

•‘The  second  standpoint  from  which  we  would 
make  an  outlook  is  that  of  Faith. 

“The  appeal  to  past  results  ought  to  convince  the 
most  skeptical  of  our  success,  achieved  under  seemingly 
overwhelming  difficulties.  But  while  visible  results 
offer  their  own  peculiar  encouragement  we  receive  our 
highest  inspiration  through  faith  in  the  divinity,  faith- 
fulness and  promises  of  Jesus  Christ,  our  great  Leader. 
Our  faith  in  him  and  the  faithfulness  of  his  promises; 
and  although  we  had  toiled  here  fifty  years  and  had 
far  less  to  show  for  it  than  we  now  have,  our  faith 
should  sustain  us  in  our  future  effort,  for  we  not  only 
live  by  faith,  but  we  must  work  by  faith.  The 
Almighty  hath  decreed  the  salvation  of  the  whole 
world  through  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  word  cannot  fail. 

“From  this  standpoint  of  faith  we  see  the  yearly 
increasing  power  of  the  Christian  Church.  We  see 


52 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


some  agencies  and  methods  of  the  Gospel  that  have 
triumphed  in  all  other  lands  established  in  China  and 
advancing  certain  victory.  Our  faith  sees  the  Gospel 
continuing  its  progress  in  China,  as  it  has  done  in  all 
other  lands,  until  all  idolatry  is  banished  and  the  mil- 
lions of  the  inhabitants  become  followers  of  the  Lord 
Jesus.  Confucianism.  Buddhism  and  Taoism  will  give 
place  to  Christianity  and  China  will  rise  to  a controll- 
ing position  in  Asia  and  a wide'  influence  among  the 
nations  of  the  world.  The  best  lover  of  China  and 
her  most  patriotic  citizen  is  a believer  in  the  Gospel  of 
^Christ. 

“Our  critics  may  say  we  are  too  sanguine;  the 
pessimist  may  declare  his  doubt  of  the  possible  con- 
version of  the  Chinese;  but  our  faith  is  in  the  unfailing 
promises  of  God  and  we  are  undisturbed.  The  whole 
mass  of  population  is  even  'now  being  learned  by  the 
hundred  thousand  Christians.  But  besides  these  con- 
verts there  are  at  least  an  equal  number  of  adherents 
who  believe  in  Christianity,  though  they  do  not  openly 
accept  it,  and  many  times  that  number  who  are  con- 
stantly brought  into  touch  with  Christian  teaching, 
sympathy  and  love  through  the  hospitals  and  dispen- 
saries, and  there  are  many  hundreds  of  thousands  more 
who  have  some  knowledge  of  Christian  truth  through 
the  vast  quantity  of  literature  annually  circulated. 

“The  hundred  thousand  Christians  may  seem 
small  in  comparison  with  the  four  hundred  millions  of 
China,  but,  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit,  each  one  be- 
comes charged  with  a divine  energy  that  neither  num- 
bers nor  magnitude  can  resist. 

“Hence  faith  sees  not  only  the  Church  established 
in  China,  with  its  converts  doubling  every  six  or  seven 


TO  THE  PASTORS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  53 

years,  but  faith  leaps  over  all  barriers  and  expects 
great  times  of  refreshing  from  the  presence  of  the 
Lord,  mighty  outpourings  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  when 
whole  communities  are  awakened  and  brought  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Christ. 

“Faith  declares  that  victory  always  waits  on  the 
soldiers  of  Zion  and  now  calls  for  a great  forward 
movement  all  over  this  great  field.  If  the  Church 
would  but  heed  the  call  we  would  soon  see  such  results 
as  would  astonish  the  world.  A.nd  if  we  are  faithful 
to  the  grand  opportunities  that  past  successes  have 
opened  before  us,  and  if,  with  unflinching  faith  we  face 
the  difficulties  still  to  be  met,  we  shall  yet  hear  a 
redeemed  nation  shout:  ‘Victory,  victory,  in  the 
blood  of  the  Lamb’  while  the  watchmen  on  the  walls 
of  Zion  cry:  'Behold,  these  from  the  land  of  Sinim.’” 

Why  cannot  we  join  in  this  great  forward  move- 
ment ? Whv  cannot  we  be  planting  a new  mission  in 
China  to  open  the  twentieth  centurj^  with  more  faith 
and  good  works?  ''Go,"  is  the  command. 


^.v 


54 


ON  TO  CHINA 


ENTERING  A VILLAGE  IN  HO  NAN 


OPPOSITION  TO  CHRISTIANITY. 


55 


CHAPTER  V. 

How  Satan  Tries  To  Keep  Christianity  Out 
Of  Hunan. 

“If  the  world  hate  you,  ye  know  that  it  hated  me 
before  it  hated  you.” 

‘‘If  they  persecuted  me,  they  will  also  persecute 
you.” 

“As  thou  hast  sent  me  into  the  world,  even  so 
have  I sent  them  into  the  world.” 

A Chinese  is  a man  whose  character  seems  to  be 
made  up  of  a mass  of  incongruities.  For  years  one 
may  pass  along  the  way  of  life  with  him  and  count 
him  one  of  the  most  peaceful  beings  in  the  world.  He 
will  dine  with  you,  chat  with  you,  and  his  social 
smiles  will  set  about  you  like  a season  of  calm  weather. 
Surely  he  is  a law  abiding  subject.  He  is  genial.  He 
brings  you  the  perpetual  sunshine  of  a radiant  person- 
ality. No  clouds  lower  over  your  daily  communion 
with  him.  Be  careful,  however;  for  there  may  come  a 
time  when  a cloud,  only  the  size  of  a man’s  hand,  will 
break  forth  in  an  intensity  and  wildness  of  fury  like 
unto  cyclones  and  typhoons,  which  carry  death  and 
destruction  in  their  train.  Then  you  see  that  “this 
same  quiet  Chinese  is  a perfect  demon,  a yelling  in- 
furiated brute,  a monster  of  destruction,  in  a riot; 
rapine,  arson  and  murder  all  rapidly  succeed  each  other 
at  such  a time,  the  howling  mob  raving  like  wild 
beasts  as  they  run  wanton  with  life  and  property.” 

The  enemies  of  the  Christian  religion  in  general 
and  of  foreign  missions  in  particular  spread  abroad  the 


5^' 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


impressions  that  Christianity  is  being  forced  upon  the 
Chinese  and  that  these  awful  riots  are  a reaction  against 
such  arbitrary  propagandism.  This  is  a mistake. 
“The  truth  is  simply  this  : that  the  western  nations 
put  in  the  treatise  that  Christianity  is  a religion  that 
exhorts  people  to  do  good;  the  people  of  China,  there- 
fore, should  have  liberty  to  study  and  practice  it  if 
they  wish.’’  More  than  once,  by  treaty  and  by  pro- 
clamation, has  there  been  semblance  of  granting  this 
reasonable  liberty  ; but  the  painful  experiences  of  the 
past  forty  years  go  to  show  that  high  officials  and  the 
literati  are  forcing  the  people  with  all  the  might  of 
their  despotism  not  to  become  Christians.  “The  mis- 
sionaries are  yearly  maligned  and  persecuted  in  all  the 
provinces  and  the  followers  of  Christianity^  are  always 
reviled  and  treated  as  traitors  to  their  own  country. 
An  account  of  the  persecutions  of  Christians  and  mis- 
sionaries and  the  riots  organized  against  them  in  all 
the  provinces  during  the  last  forty  years  would  form 
many  volumes.  ’ ’ The  mandarins  and  gentry  play  upon 
the  ignorance  of  the  people  for  gain  and  office.  They 
enrich  themselves  b}'^  a sj-stem  of  political  plunder  that 
can  be  found  in  no  other  country.  They  fear  our 
science  and  civilization  will  overthrow'  their  false  pow'er 
and  position  and  put  an  end  to  their  corrupt  govern- 
ment and  their  profits.  Our  ability'  to  rush  along  at 
the  rate  of  sixtj'  miles  an  hour  is  the  result  of  a wonder- 
working magic;  for  the  people,  woefully  ignorant  of 
the  commonest  scientific  facts  which  we  teach  our 
children  in  our  homes,  are  ready  to  believ'e  anything 
their  superiors  tell  them.  So  these  riots  are  brought 
about  by  a systematic  and  widespread  circulation  of 
most  scandalous  and  libelous  literature  by  Chinese 


OPPOSITION  TO  CHRISTIANITY. 


57 


mandarins  and  gentr}',  in  _order  to  influence  public 
opinion  against  Christians  and  foreigners  generally  ; 
■and  in  the  soil  of  such  ignorance  the  seeds  of  persecu- 
tion spring  up  and  bear  a heavy  crop  of  bitter  fruit. 
Foreigners  can  .see  millions  of  miles  into  the  sky;  they 
can  make  an  insect  look  as  large  as  a horse  ; they  have 
medical  men  who  can  pertonn  miracles  on  the  human 
body  ; they  have  wise  men  who  can  peer  deep  into  the 
ground  and  discover  precious  metals  ; they  are  great 
magicians  ; and  in  mysterious  works  they  require  the 
black  eyes  of  Chinese  children  or  the  eyes  of  dead 
Chinese.  A dense  credulous  ignorance  of  the  common 
facts  of  steam,  of  surgery,  of  medicine,  of  the  telescope, 
of  the  microscope  and  of  mining,  is  thus  maddened 
into  fury  of  an  m contiollable  riot.  Death  then  sports 
with  life. 

The  proclamations  by  which  the  popular  mind  is 
thrown  into  a deep  frenzy  are  nsnall}^  filled  with  the 
vilest  epithets  against  Christians,  against  missionaries 
and  other  foreigners,  and  against  our  blessed  Lord  Jesus 
Christ  This  kind  of  language  breathes  a spirit  that 
at  once  makes  it  evident  what  might  happen  to  a 
foreign  lady  were  she  to  fall  into  the  arms  of  a shout- 
ing mob.  There  are  cases  on  record  w'here  it  would 
have  been  better  for  the  women  to  have  fallen  into  the 
jaws  of  a man-eating  tiger.  In  comparison,  the  mis- 
fortune would  have  been  tender  mercy.  Like  the 
enemies  of  the  early  Christian  Church,  these  antagonists 
of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  China  make  the  wildest  and 
most  wicked  assertions  in  regard  to  the  relations  exist- 
ing between  the  men  and  the  women  of  the  Christian 
Church  and  of  the  missionary  bod3^ 

Concerning  a booklet  known  as  ‘'Death  to  the 


58 


ON  TO  CHINA. 


Devil' s Religio7i,"  a missionary  once  wrote  to  a foreign 
newspaper  in  Shanghai,  “Of  all  Hunan  publications, 
I do  not  know  of  one  more  violent,  more  abusive,  more 
filthy,  or  more  inflammatory  than  this.  It  is  written 
in  fluent  mandarin.  It  finishes  up  with  a song,  which 
is  committed  to  memory  by  the  children  of  Hunan 
and  sung  in  the  streets.  I felt  inclined  for  a moment 
to  give  you  a translation  of  this  song.  But  it  is  im- 
possible; it  is  too  dirty  and  vile.  You  could  not  print 
it.  I may,  however,  translate  the  words  of  exhortation 
with  which  the  book  closes;  ‘Let  fathers  and  the  old 
people  teach  the  children  to  sing  this  song  and  thus 
accumulate  merit  and  bliss.  Let  the  little  boys  learn 
to  sing  this  song  and  thus  remove  calamity  and  danger. 
Why  fear  because  the  demons  are  many  ? We  are 
firmly  resolved  to  exterminate  them  utterly.  The 
magistrate  knows  perfectly  well  what  is  going  on  and 
does  not  utter  a word  or  lift  a finger.  ’ 

“In  the  Hunan  publications,  the  worship  of  Jesus 
is  represented  as  the  worship  of  licentiousness.  Our 
Lord  is  represented  as  a hog  crucified  and  surrounded 
by  male  and  female  worshipers,  some  on  their  knees 
and  some  indulging  in  licentious  merriment.  The 
term,  ‘ The  Religioji  of  the  Lord  of  Heaven,'  is  generally 
written,  'The  Squeak  of  the  Celestial  Hog.'  Converts 
are  also  called  sons  and  grandsons  of  the  devils  and 
the  pig-goat-devils,  that  is,  of  foreigners.’’ 

We  read  of  “The  depraved  devil  Jesus;’’  and 
again  that  “married  w’omen,  maidens  and  little  child- 
ren three  years  old,  all  hate  the  hog  Jesus.  When 
they  call  the  pigs,  they  use  the  word  Jesus;  eating 
pork  they  call  eating  the  flesh  of  Jesus;  in  transacting 
business  at  the  butcher  shops,  they  all  use  the  expres- 


OPPOSITION  TO  CHRISTIANITY. 


59 


sions,  “selling  Jesns,’’  “buying  Jesus.’’  This  is 
attacking  the  depraved  religion  to  the  utmost.  Extracts 
like  these  might  be  multiplied.  But  enough. 

Inflamed  by  literature  of  this  kind  and  led  on  by 
ruffians,  a Chinese  mob  is  something  that  cannot  be 
described.  These  riots  are  frequently  carried  on  by 
tens  of  thousands  of  howling  men  and  women.  Among 
them  you  will  find  re.spectably  dressed  Chinamen  and 
even  soldiers  whose  business  it  is  to  quell  such  un- 
lawful crowds. 

A few  3"ears  ago  a strong  missionary  wrote,  “It 
is  true  that  the  rioters  have  in  several  instances  been 
punished,  but  they  are  not  punished  either  according 
to  the  severity  of  Chinese  or  foreign  laws  and  the 
instigators  are  generally  set  free  and  the  high  authors 
and  disseminators  of  the  inflammatory  literature  incit- 
ing the  people  to  hatred,  to  riots  and  murder  hav^e 
never  been  punished  to  this  da^-,  altho  constantly 
pointed  out  during  the  last  five  years.  ’ ’ 

Chou  Han,  a scholar  holding  high  rank,  one  of 
the  best  known  men  in  Hunan,  the  author  of  some  of 
the  most  vile  and  inflammatory"  of  the  Hunan  publica- 
tions, was,  however,  deposed  and  degraded.  Foreign 
pressure  upon  the  government  effected  that. 

Dear  friends,  my  heart  bleeds  for  China.  Jesus 
has  claims  upon  me  for  these  people.  Jesus  has  claims 
upon  all  of  us  for  these  people.  How  will  you  and  I 
respond  to  the.se  claims  ? We  cannot,  we  dare  not, 
.say,  “Behold  we  knew"  it  not.’ ’ O,  God,  make  us, 
keep  us  faithful  to  Thy  work.  May  our  consecration 
be  commensurate  w"ith  our  know"ledge  of  the  needs  of 
China.  Lord^Jesus,  help  us  to  obey"  this  call. 


A CHINKSB  GARDEN  AND  SUMMER  HOUSE. 


CHINA’S  niLLIONS 


China  has  been  consecrated  as  a mission  field,  by  the 
blood  of  many  martyrs.  The  foundation  has  been  laid  with 
precious  lives.  Sowers  have  gone  forth  to  sow,  bearing 
precious  seeds.  Many  have  ceased  their  sowing.  Who  shall 
do  the  work  of  reaping,  if  this  generation  refuses  to  do  it? 
Tremendous  sacrifices  have  already  been  made,  manifold  perse- 
cutions endured,  privations  suffered,  many’  heart-aches  caused 
by  the  severance  of  home  ties,  and  many  liveg  willingly  given 
for  its  redemption.  Shall  we  allow  all  this  to  have  been  in 
vain,  by  not  being  willing  to  follow  up  the  adv’antages  and  the 
foot-holds  which  have  already  been  gained  ? 


Each  black  square  represents  1,000000  Chinese  souls  in 
heathendom,  400,000,000  altogether.  The  white  squares  rep- 
resent the  Christians  and  the  inquirers  after  “the  way  of  life.” 

Let  the  unceasing  battle  cry  of  the  church  be  ‘ On  to 
China  !"  ‘‘Christ  for  China  and  China  for  Christ.”  May  the 
church  move  On  and  On  and  On  with  increasing  power  until 
“at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee  will  bow,  and  every  tongue 
confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father. 


JUST  ISSUED. 

A New  Pamphlet  on  the 

IReflcx  linfluence  of  flDissionar^  leffort. 

By 

REV.  J.  H.  BOMBERGER,  D.  D., 

Author  of  “preach  the  Gospel,”  ‘‘C.  E.  Plans  and 
Principles,”  ‘‘Cardinal  Points,”  etc. 


Encouragement  for  the  Discouraged, 

A Stimulant  for  the  Worker, 

Convincement  for  the  Indifferent. 

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insure  a large  circulation. 

May  we  have  your  co-operation  in  circu- 
lating it  ? 

It  has  been  called  ‘‘Nails  driven  by  a 
Master.”  “Excellent,”  “Helpful,’^  etc.,  by  min- 
isters and  others  who  have  read  it. 

Price,  Single  Copies,  sets.,  Per  Doz.  Copies,  50  cts. 
5end  Orders  to  the 

Woman’s  Journal, 


ALLIANCE,  OHIO. 


®ur  IDungarian 
Wlork. 


The  Host  Successful  Work 
of  the  Church. 


This  valuable  pamphlet  contains  a vast 
amount  of  information  about  our  Hungarian 
Work. 

It  contains  a scholarly  and  accurate  his- 
torical sketch  on  “How  Hungary  Became  Re- 
formed,” by  Rev.  F.  Mayer. 

Letters  from  our  Hungarian  Mission- 
aries, short  biographical  sketches  of  their  lives 
and  an  article  by  Mrs.  Geo.  F.  Bareis. 

Illustrated  with  HALF'TONL  EN- 
GRAVINGS of  these  Faithful  Missionrudes, 

Price,  5 Cents. 

Address  ^ 

Woman’s  Journal, 


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HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

OF  THE 

ORIGIN  AND  GROWTH 

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WOMAN^S  MISSIONARY 
SOCIETIES 

OF  THE  REFORMED  CHURCH. 

By  Mrs.  E.  S.  Yockey. 


Contains  engravings  of  all  the  officers  of  the 
W.  M.  S.  G.  S.  and  the  Synodical  Presidents. 

Much  valuable  historical  information  is  given  in 
a convenient  form  for  future  reference. 

It  also  contains  the  Amended  Con.stitution. 

Each  member  of  the  Missionary  Societies  should 
have  a copy  of  this  valuable  pamphlet. 

The  Price  for  Single  Copies,  5 cents. 

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Address  ^ ^ 

The  Woman’s  Journal, 

ALLIANCE,  OHIO. 


NED  HAHPDEN, 

OR 

THE  RAVAGES  OF  INTEHPERANCE. 


. This  is  the  title  of  an  excellent  temperance  work  which 
has  met  with  fjeneral  favor  wherever  it  has  been  introduced. 

I Sunday  School  superintendents  and  many  others  have  spoken 
in  the  highest  terms  of  its  excellence.  The  book  contains  two 
! hundred  and  seventy  four  pages,  with  a half  tone  portrait  of 
: the  author.  Rev.  I.  A.  Sites,  as  a frontispiece, 
i In  the  form  of  a pleasing  narrative  the  note  of  warning  is 
: sounded  to  young  men  who  allpw  themselves  to  be  enticed 
^ ‘into  the  saloons  and  young  ladies  are  shown  what  their  fate 
i will  be  if  they  marry  a man  who  is  addicted  to  the  use  of  the 
i wine  CUD ; The  Christian  voter  is  brought  face  toface  with  his 
responsibility  as  a true  citizen  and  follower  of  Christ. 

A F!-:W  PRESS  NOTICES. 

\ “He  writes  as  one  inspired  by  a high  and  holy  purpose — 

I as  one  whose  whole  soul  is  aroused  with  a holy  indignation. 
The  effects  of  the  licensed  rum  traffic  are  depicted  with  all  the 
graphic  fidelity  to  every  day  facts,  with  all  the  thrilling  interest, 
and  all  the  dramatic  effect  of  the  celebrated,  “TEN  NIGHT’S 
IN  .A  RAR  ROOM.”  We  most  devoutly  wish  every  voter  in 
the  land  would  procure  a copy  of  this  book  (Ned  Hampden), 
f and  read  ami  ponder  its  contents.” — Religious  Telescope. 

5 "It  is  a terrible  truth,  not  overdrawn’,  and  will  serve  a 
; good  purpose  in  making  that  girl  stop  and  consider  who  is 
j willing  to  marry  one  who  drinks  even  a little.  Showing  the 
young  man  a pitiful  picture  of  what  he  possibly  and  probably 
» will  become.” — Ram's  Horn. 

w Ned  Hampden  is  one  of  the  best  and  strongest  temperance 
books  we  have  seen  for  many  a day.  It  should  be  in  every 
ft  household  in  our  land.-  It  has  few,  if  any,  equals  as  a Temper- 
Sance  work. — Daily  and  ll/eekly  Journal. 

V A fine  cloth  hound  copy  will  be  sent  post  paid  on  receipt 
f of  f i.oo;  Manilla  bound,  40  cts. 

I TriE  Wo.MAN's  Journal, 

I ■ Alliance,  Ohio.  ■ 


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